Latest images from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO - EUVI/COR1/COR2/HI1/HI2)

Downlink from STEREO Behind has been detected during the recovery track on August 21st 2016. More info | All news.

Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (or STEREO) employs two nearly identical space-based observatories. One ahead of Earth in its orbit (STEREO A), the other trailing behind (STEREO B) to provide stereoscopic measurements to study the Sun and the nature of its CMEs. Check the current STEREO positions and ground station coverage.

Beacon images

These are the latest received images from both spacecraft. They are generally of lower quality and resolution. Some factors such as Deep Space Network schedule conflicts may result in delaying the beacon images. Check below for the latest high-resolution images (these are normally delayed by up to 72 hours).

Note: Both HI1 and HI2 images are processed using two different methods. You can swap the different versions by clicking on the full-size image in the popup window.

STEREO A (Earth is to the right (post solar conjunction) in EUVI, COR1 and COR2)

EUVI 195Å COR1 COR2 HI1 STARS/HI1 CME HI2 STARS/HI2 CME

STEREO B (Earth is to the right in EUVI, COR1 and COR2)
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Latest high-resolution images

STEREO A STEREO B (no contact)

EUVI 171Å EUVI 195Å EUVI 284Å EUVI 304Å EUVI 171Å EUVI 195Å EUVI 284Å EUVI 304Å

COR1 COR1 rdiff COR2 COR2 rdiff COR1 COR1 rdiff COR2 COR2 rdiff

Stereo Behind COR1 RDIFF high resolution

Stereo Behind COR2 RDIFF high resolution

HI1 HI1 rdiff HI1 STARS HI2 STARS HI1 HI1 rdiff HI1 STARS HI2 STARS

note: The "rdiff" COR and HI images use different type of postprocessing called "running difference". It detects the difference between the current and the previous available frame, thus providing a highlight on the subtle details in the images.

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7-day composite videos (updated daily)
NOTE: Contact with STEREO-B has been lost. As a result the videos may not be updated regularly due to insufficient data.

COR1

COR2

HI1

HI2

EUVI-171

EUVI-195

EUVI-284

EUVI-304

COR1, COR2, HI1, HI2

EUVI-171, EUVI-195, EUVI-284, EUVI-304

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Visible planets

STEREO A (Earth is to the right (post solar conjunction))

Visible planets on Stereo Ahead Coronagraph 1

Visible planets on Stereo Ahead Coronagraph 2

Visible planets on Stereo Ahead Heliospheric Imager 1

Visible planets on Stereo Behind Coronagraph 1

Visible planets on Stereo Behind Coronagraph 2

Visible planets on Stereo Behind Heliospheric Imager 1

STEREO B (Earth is to the right)
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IMPACT/PLASTIC solar wind data

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Status and upcoming events:

STEREO A/B weekly status report from the Mission Operations Center: DOWNLOAD (pdf)

	    STEREO Weekly Meeting Minutes for 2018-09-11 (Week 37)

ANNOUNCEMENTS
-------------

* After four years of attempting to re-establish communications with the Behind
  observatory, NASA has directed to cease recovery operations with the last
  support on October 17th.  For all of the dedicated support from the NASA
  GSFC, Science teams, Instrument teams, DSN, JHU/APL engineering team, FDF,
  SSMO scheduling, and Mission Operations team, we thank you.  Well done.

* This suspension of recovery efforts does not mean that attempts won't be
  resumed in the future.


INSTRUMENT and SPACECRAFT STATUS
--------------------------------

* Ahead is operating nominally on the main lobe of the high gain antenna.

* Behind has transitioned to a monthly schedule to attempt to recover the
  spacecraft.


DISCUSSION AND OPERATIONS CONSTRAINTS
-------------------------------------

Week 36 (Sep 3-9)

* On day 249 (Sep 6), during the DSS-84 support for Ahead, the DSN was unable
  to bind to the ESA Malargue station due to a SLE configuration issue.  This
  anomaly resulted in the loss of 5.7 hours of real-time telemetry and
  commanding.  On day 253 (Sep 10), the configuration issue was resolved and
  all data received were transferred to the MOC.  Updated data products will be
  generated.

* On day 250 (Sep 7), during the DSS-84 support for Ahead, the DSN was unable
  to bind to the ESA Malargue station due to a SLE configuration issue.  This
  anomaly resulted in the loss of 5 hours of real-time telemetry and
  commanding.  On day 253 (Sep 10), the configuration issue was resolved and
  all data received were transferred to the MOC.  Updated data products will be
  generated.

* The DSN will be doing testing today (Sep 11) to confirm that the problem is
  resolved ahead of another ESA track tomorrow (Sep 12).

* On day 251 (Sep 8), during the DSS-34 support for Ahead, turbo decoder lock
  was lost briefly at 0248z.  This anomaly resulted in the loss of 3 frames of
  SSR data.

* On day 252 (Sep 9), during the DSS-65 support for Ahead, turbo decoder lock
  was lost briefly at 1546z.  This anomaly resulted in the loss of 1 frame of
  SSR data.

* The average daily science data return for Ahead was 4.7 Gbits during this
  week.  This does not include the data taken by the Malargue station discussed
  above, which has not yet been processed.

Week 37 (Sep 10-16)

* Maintenance is being performed on the NASCOM router this afternoon (Sep 11).

* There are ten tracks for Ahead during the week, and overall coverage is now
  nominal with the addition of ESA Malargue tracks on Wednesday and
  Thursday. There are three tracks at 720 kbps, two at 360 kbps, one at 240
  kbps, and four at 160 kbps.

* There are no recovery passes for Behind during the week.

Week 38 (Sep 17-23)

* An APL router upgrade is scheduled for 11:00 UT on Tuesday, Sep 18.  This is
  expected to have no effect on operations.

* There will be a telemetry assessment review on Wednesday, Sep 19, from
  9-12 AM, 13:00-16:00 UT at APL. Webex invitations have been sent out.  Please
  let APL know ahead of time if you plan to attend in person, so that security
  passes can be obtained.

* Ahead has eight passes during the week, and overall coverage is nominal.
  There are five passes at 720 kbps, two at 240 kbps, and one at 160 kbps.

* Recovery passes for Behind using the 1 kHz frequency acquisition sequence are
  scheduled for Friday, Sep 21 (battery), and on Saturday and Sunday, Sep 22,
  23 (both carrier).

Week 39 (Sep 24-30)

* Ahead has nine passes during the week, and overall coverage is now nominal
  with the addition of an ESA New Norcia pass on Monday, and an ESA Cebreros
  pass on Thursday.  There are six passes at 720 kbps, one pass at 360 kbps,
  and two passes at 160 kbps.

* There are no recovery passes for Behind during the week.

Week 40 (Oct 1-7)

* On Tuesday, October 2nd, the 113th momentum dump is scheduled for 15:30
  UT.  This will be the 32nd momentum dump that does not use the gyros.  It
  will be carried out during an ESA Malargue pass.

* Wednesday, Oct 3rd, test track on ESA Malargue for 4 hours to test the
  Ahead MOC transition to CCSDS SLE bluebook version 4.

* Ahead has eleven passes during the week, and overall coverage is nominal.
  There are six passes at 720 kbps, two at 360 kbps, and three at 160 kbps.
  This includes 4.25 hours of ESA New Norcia coverage on Tuesday and the
  momentum dump on ESA Malargue on Tuesday for 4.25 hours.

* There are no recovery passes for Behind during the week.

Week 41 (Oct 8-14)

* Ahead has eleven passes during the week, and overall coverage is nominal.
  There are six passes at 720 kbps, two at 360 kbps, one at 240 kbps, and two
  at 160 kbps.  This includes ESA Cebreros passes on Monday and Thursday.

* There are no recovery passes for Behind during the week. 

* A previously scheduled interface test track with Behind has been reassigned
  to Ahead as a regular track.

* Oct 12th Behind reaches perihelion. 

Week 42 (Oct 15-21)

* Ahead has eight passes during the week, and overall coverage is short 4 hours
  of 70 meter time between Friday through Sunday.  The in situ instruments may
  lose a few hours of data.  There are four passes at 720 kbps, two at 360
  kbps, and one at 160 kbps.

* Search pattern recovery passes for Behind are scheduled for Monday, Oct 15
  (battery), and on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 16th and 17th (both
  carrier).  Until further notice, these are the last recovery attempts for
  Behind.

Week 43 (Oct 22-28)

* Thursday, Oct 25, is the 12th anniversary of the launch of STEREO.

* Ahead has nine passes during the week, and overall coverage is nominal.
  There are four passes at 720 kbps, two at 360 kbps, one at 240 kbps, and two
  at 160 kbps.  This includes an ESA Cebreros pass on Friday.


COORDINATED OBSERVATIONS

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scheduled activities for Week 37:

M Sep 10 (253)  
T Sep 11 (254)  
W Sep 12 (255)  
T Sep 13 (256)  
F Sep 14 (257)  
S Sep 15 (258)  
S Sep 16 (259)  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scheduled activities for Week 38:

M Sep 17 (260)  
T Sep 18 (261)  
W Sep 19 (262)  
T Sep 20 (263)  
F Sep 21 (264)  Behind:	Recovery track, DSN 14 (1 kHz, battery)
S Sep 22 (265)  Behind:	Recovery track, DSN 14 (1 kHz, carrier)
S Sep 23 (266)  Behind:	Recovery track, DSN 14 (1 kHz, carrier)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scheduled activities for Week 39:

M Sep 24 (267)  
T Sep 25 (268)  
W Sep 26 (269)  
T Sep 27 (270)  
F Sep 28 (271)  
S Sep 29 (272)  
S Sep 30 (273)  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scheduled activities for Week 40:

M Oct 01 (274)  
T Oct 02 (275)  
W Oct 03 (276)  Ahead:	Interface test track with ESA Malargue
T Oct 04 (277)  
F Oct 05 (278)  
S Oct 06 (279)  
S Oct 07 (280)  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scheduled activities for Week 41:

M Oct 08 (281)
T Oct 09 (282)
W Oct 10 (283)
T Oct 11 (284)
F Oct 12 (285)
S Oct 13 (286)
S Oct 14 (287)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scheduled activities for Week 42:

M Oct 15 (288) Behind:	Recovery track, DSN 14 (search pattern, battery)
T Oct 16 (289) Behind:	Recovery track, DSN 43 (search pattern, carrier)
W Oct 17 (290) Behind:	Recovery track, DSN 43 (search pattern, carrier)
T Oct 18 (291)
F Oct 19 (292)
S Oct 20 (293)
S Oct 21 (294)

Note:

* Ahead: Coverage is short 4 hours between Friday and Sunday, Oct 19-21.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scheduled activities for Week 43:

M Oct 22 (295)  
T Oct 23 (296)  
W Oct 24 (297)  
T Oct 25 (298)  12th STEREO launch anniversary
F Oct 26 (299)  
S Oct 27 (300)  
S Oct 28 (301)  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Upcoming events:

Behind events are contingent on recovering the spacecraft.

2018:

* Nov 4,5,6		Ahead:	SECCHI COR2 deep exposure campaign with first
      				Parker Solar Probe perihelion (dates TBC)

2019:

* Mar			Ahead:	Switch downlink rate to 240 kbps for 34 meter
* Apr			Behind:	Switch downlink rate to 240 kbps for 34 meter
* Nov 4			Ahead:	Close approach of Parker Solar Probe

2020:

* May			Behind:	Switch downlink rate to 360 kbps for 34 meter
* Jun			Ahead:	Switch downlink rate to 360 kbps for 34 meter
* Jun			Behind: Switch downlink rate to 480 kbps for 34 meter
* Sep			Ahead:	Switch downlink rate to 480 kbps for 34 meter

2021:

* Jul			Behind:	Switch downlink rate to 720 kbps for 34 meter
* Aug			Ahead:	Switch downlink rate to 720 kbps for 34 meter

2022:

2023:

* May 5			Behind:	Mercury transit
* Jul 17		Behind:	Closest approach to Earth
* Aug 13		Ahead:	Closest approach to Earth

2024:

2025:

* Apr 7			Ahead:	Mercury transit

2026:

2027:

* Feb 1			Behind: Mercury transit

2028:

2029:

* Jun 30		Ahead:	Mercury transit

Courtesy of STEREO/SECCHI consortium.