Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment

NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite has been providing data on the sun's irradiance for 10 years. SORCE measures electromagnetic radiation produced by the sun and the power per unit area of that energy on the Earth's surface.


Top 10 Scientific Achievements
The SORCE mission has:
Established a new level of TSI that is 4.6 W/m2 (0.34%) lower than prior space-based observations.
Acquired the first continuous measurements of SSI in the 115- to 2400-nm spectral range.
Defined a reference spectrum of the Sun's spectral irradiance from 0.1 to 2400 nm during very quiet solar conditions.
Provided total and spectral irradiance inputs to the climate and atmospheric communities, and used in a wide variety of simulations and models.
Implemented next-generation instrumentation of spaceflight radiometers for solar irradiance monitoring with the highest accuracy and precision yet achieved.
Seamlessly extended the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Mg II index of chromospheric activity.
Acquired the first solar flare measurements in TSI, and accompanying spectral variations.
Advanced and validated models of the Sun's total and spectral irradiance variability.
Observed two Venus transits and two Mercury transits of the Sun, demonstrating exo-solar planet detection capabilities and limitations.
Validated the white dwarf flux scale for absolute calibration of instruments for UV astronomy and made the first absolute measurement of disk integrated lunar UV reflectance.For details on each of these achievements, visit:http://lasp.colorado.edu/sorce/news/2013/2013_news.htm
Source: LASP/Colorado State"SORCE has set a new standard of accuracy, precision, and wavelength range for the sun's irradiance," said Robert Cahalan, SORCE Project Scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "[It's] a kind of climate gold standard' for the radiative forcing of Earth over the decade of the 2000s, beginning with the dramatic Halloween flares of October-November 2003, through the historically low 2008-2009 minimum of Solar Cycle 23, into the rise of Solar Cycle 24, providing a climate record likely to grow in value for sun and Earth studies over many decades to come."

SORCE was launched on January 25, 2003 and began normal operations on March 6, 2003. The mission of SORCE was to collect a continuous record of the sun’s Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) and Spectral Solar Irradiance (SSI). The SORCE spacecraft carries four observational instruments: Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM), Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE), Solar Irradiance Monitor (SIM), and soft X-ray Ultraviolet Photometer System (XPS).

SORCE was launched during a solar maximum period; as the mission progressed, the sun moved into a solar minimum period that was considerably longer than predicted. The next cycle did finally get started, and solar activity is now nearing its apex for this current cycle (though current observations suggest that the maximum may have a double peak).

Basically, SORCE data has provided scientists a unique understanding of how the sun varies both slowly and rapidly, affecting Earth’s weather and climate systems and ultimately all the life on Earth that depends on the sun's flow of energy.

One of the primary results of the SORCE mission is the daily record of Total Solar Irradiance (TSI), above the atmosphere of the Earth. TSI is a critical, fundamental variable for the Earth’s climate system, because even small variations in the amount of energy received by the Earth globe from the sun can affect Earth’s climate and weather systems. TSI is slightly lower during solar minimum periods and higher during solar maximum periods, with higher variability evident during solar maximum periods. Solar flares and sunspots, which occur more frequently during solar maxima, cause measurable variability in TSI.

One of the most important achievements of SORCE was using Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM) data to establish a new baseline level of total solar irradiance (TSI) at the top of Earth's atmosphere of 1360.8 watts per meter squared (W/m2), as determined during the recent solar minimum. That minimum TSI value is known to 0.5 watts-per-meter-squared, or 0.037% (100 x 0.5/1360.8), an unprecedented high degree of accuracy. That value is 0.34% (4.6 W/m2) lower than measured by previous space-based solar monitoring instruments, which include the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) missions and the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) mission. Two other instrument groups have now come into agreement with SORCE's TSI estimates, including both ACRIMSAT-ACRIM3 and The European Space Agency's PICARD-SOVAP.

TSI is a fundamental variable in the calculation of the sun’s energy input to Earth’s climate system and Earth’s overall energy budget. Extremely accurate measurements of TSI also indicate how much the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth is varying.