This viewer displays a model of the solar coronal magnetic field, which is represented by a selection of fieldlines that have been computed from the long-running PFSS model at the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL). Users with access to IDL and SolarSoft can access this model via the "pfss" package. General information on SolarSoft can be found at this link.

Models for each day are available from 2010 to the present. The color of the fieldlines is based on whether they are closed (white) or open (green or magenta, depending on polarity). The surface magnetic map is based on a flux-transport model of the solar photosphere, with magnetogram data inserted at regular intervals, as described in Schrijver & DeRosa, "Photospheric and Heliospheric Magnetic Fields", which was published in the journal Solar Physics in 2003. Magnetogram data is provided by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board NASA's Solar Dynamnics Observatory (SDO).

The green spot on the surface indicates the "disk center" point from the viewer's perspective, and the yellow spot on the surface signifies the "disk center" point as viewed from Earth for the date of the fieldline model.

The rendering of the coronal magnetic field model shown here can be interactively manipulated using the mouse. Users can rotate, zoom, and pan the model by respectively pressing left, middle, and right mouse buttons while moving the mouse. On touch-screen devices, the model is rotated, zoomed, and panned by swiping with one finger, pinching, or swiping with two fingers.

Images and movies from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) are not copyrighted unless explicitly noted. The use of SDO images for non-commercial purposes and public education and information efforts is strongly encouraged and requires no expressed authorization. It is requested, however, that any such use properly attributes the source of the images, movies, or derived data products with a statement such as:

SDO images and movies are courtesy of NASA, and the respective AIA and HMI science teams at Lockheed Martin and at Stanford University. Coronal magnetic field visualizations available from https://suntoday.lmsal.com are based on the models described in Schrijver & DeRosa, "Photospheric and Heliospheric Magnetic Fields", which was published in the journal Solar Physics in 2003.