Hinode

Solar-B

Mission Profile

Hinode (Solar-B) is a JAXA solar observation satellite launched on 22 September 2006 aboard an M-V rocket, designed to study the Sun's magnetic field and its relationship to coronal heating, solar wind acceleration, and flare energetics with unprecedented spatial resolution. Carrying three instruments — a Solar Optical Telescope, an X-ray Telescope, and an EUV Imaging Spectrometer — Hinode observes the Sun from a sun-synchronous polar orbit enabling near-continuous observation during northern hemisphere summer. The mission revealed that Alfvén waves propagate through the solar corona with sufficient energy to heat it, contributing to the long-standing mystery of why the corona is millions of degrees hotter than the photosphere. Hinode continues operating nearly two decades after launch, providing high-resolution solar magnetic field measurements that support space weather prediction.