The picture of the month shows the impact of the recent (end of
October/beginning of November 2003) series of solar flares on the
INTEGRAL spacecraft. The figure shows measurements of INTEGRAL's
radiation monitor IREM. The electron counter TC3 (red) and the proton
counter S14 (blue) are shown. Clearly visible are the spikes during
perigee passages (every three days) due to increased solar electron
and proton fluxes. The normal level is visible during October 25 and
the beginning of October 26 and increases by more than a factor
thousand on October 29.
In the background a SOHO image of the Sun (taken at a wavelength of
195 Angstrom) is projected which shows the active sunspot region AR
10486 disappearing from visibility on the left hand side. This bright
sunspot region was the origin of the solar flares which impacted on
INTEGRAL operations.
Courtesy: Paul Buehler/PSI and the IREM team.
SOHO (ESA/NASA mission) picture taken from
SOHO website.
