So enormous is the wealth of data on the sun being sent back by space missions such as SOHO, STEREO and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)  scientists on earth can struggle to keep pace. To combat the data overload, scientists from the Visual Computer Centre at Bradford University are developing advanced imaging tools to help visualise what’s happening at the Sun, make sense of the data and predict the extreme solar activities that could affect our life here on Earth. 

"These techniques are very important," said (right) Dr Rami  Qahwaji. “We are now able to process images so that the resolution is double that of source images.  Most satellites are limited by the amount of data that they can store and download.  The ability to turn medium resolution into high resolution in the lab means satellites can take smaller images more frequently, which help real-time monitoring of the Sun and predicting space weather. 

"It also means scientists can zoom in on the features that interest them, without downloading huge files. There is lot of potential for this technology. For example, it can help overcome small information loss caused by noise and can be used to generate high-definition 3D images."

In addition to enhancing image resolution, the Bradford group has developed 2- and 3-dimensional visualisation tools to help scientists understand complex processes that drive solar activity.  Processing hundreds of solar images, they  create automated maps that summarise solar activity over an entire solar rotation and models of magnetic field lines, generating 3-D visualisations of magnetic loop locations on the Sun’s rotating globe.

"This is the first time that SDO data has created these synoptic maps and we have also created a first automated 3-D model of magnetic loops,” said Qahwaji.

“As well as being a useful tool for scientists, we hope that the public will find the 3-D model an interesting way of finding out what’s happening on the Sun."

The group now collaborates with Trinity College Dublin on the development of a new flares predictions system called SMART-ASAP. This computerised system analyses recent images to extract physical properties from solar magnetic features that are analysed further using artificial intelligence techniques to predict whether extreme solar activities will occur.

"Extreme solar activities, such as flares, can affect our life on earth since we rely more and more on space-based communication and extended power distribution systems, both .. vulnerable to such activities. Satellite and electrical power industries generate hundreds of billions of dollars in annual revenue and to protect these assets, we need accurate solar weather forecasting," says Qahwaji.

Terahertz (THz) detector

QMC Instruments Ltd, in partnership with Astronomical Instrumentation Group at Cardiff University, has built instruments for many major space missions, including Herschel and Planck. Now, expanding on that experience they are developing KIDCAM, a detector that could have applications in hospitals, factories and airports.

Astronomers use THz radiation to study the Cosmic Microwave Background and the huge dust clouds where stars are born.  The sensitive detectors they use only
operate at temperatures very close to absolute zero (minus 273 degrees Celsius).

In THz cameras like KIDCAM, those temperatures are accessible in compact and less expensive ways using relatively new cooler technology. So KIDCAM has many potential day-to-day applications.

THz observations give something in between surface and x-ray pictures.  Clothing and packaging materials are transparent to THz radiation, skin, water, metal and a host of other  materials are not. THz  allows concealed wapon detection; skin and breast cancer tissue differential; allows quality control of manufactured items and processes in factories.

"Our KIDCAM detectors are also very sensitive, and so we can look at the natural radiation emitted by the target. This means there are no safety issues like those associated with other imaging techniques which shine radiation, including X-rays, at the target," says   Marketing director, Ken Wood.

Until recently, there have been many practical obstacles to using  THz detectors.  Terahertz sources have only become available to non-specialists in the last decade and cooling detectors to very low temperatures using liquid cryogens is costly and complicated.

"The instruments aboard  Herschel and Planck satellites need to be cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero so that emissions from the spacecraft don't drown out the faint signals that come from the very edge of the observable Universe," notes Wood.

"For KIDCAM, we have developed a kind of detector that can be operated in electrical coolers and therefore without the use of liquified gases.  KIDCAM can tune to specific frequencies for specific applications, for instance enhance the contrast between skin and plastic explosive for airport
security scanners.  

Unwanted frequencies can be blocked to increase the
camera's sensitivity. Experience that we gained working on astronomical missions has been invaluable in helping us do this.  The race is now on around the world to produce devices that will realise the enormous potential
of THz science and thanks to the ingenuity of UK astronomers we have made a great start."

Composite image of 19 sets of observations by MERLIN and VLA radio telescope arrays. The high resolution of the map is illustrated by the inset images of selected galaxies in the field. The most central image is expanded twice (including an e-MERLIN high-resolution image), and depicts galaxy type with a bright Active Galactic Nucleus, thought to be caused by matter falling towards a central super-massive black hole. This is the most recent image taken by e-MERLIN and clearly reveals the compact core - less than 0.05 arc-seconds in diameter.  Credit: Nick Wrigley/University of Manchester.