Purpose To measure solar magnetic fields To understand how energy generated by
magnetic-field changes in the lower solar atmosphere (photosphere) is transmitted to the upper solar atmosphere (corona)
To understand how that energy influences the dynamics and structure of that upper atmosphere
To determine how the energy transfer and atmospheric dynamics affects the interplanetary-space environment
Instruments The Solar Optical Telescope This suite of instruments will for the first time
precisely measure small changes in the sun's magnetic field. The instruments also will show how these changes evolve and coincide with dynamic events seen in the sun's corona, which extends millions of miles into space.
The X-ray Telescope will capture X-ray images of the sun's corona -- the hot, million-degree, outer atmosphere. The corona is the spawning ground for the solar flares and coronal mass ejections that dominate the space between the sun and Earth. These phenomena are powered by the sun's magnetic field. By combining observations by Solar-B's optical and X-ray telescopes, scientists will be able to study how changes in the sun’s magnetic field trigger these explosive solar event
The primary function of Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Package is to measure the flow velocity, or speed of solar particles, and diagnose the temperature and density of solar plasma, its corona and beyond. The Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Package provides a crucial link between the other two instruments because it can measure the layers that separate the photosphere from the corona -- an area known as the chromosphere and the chromosphere-corona transition.