The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) provides multiple simultaneous high-resolution full-disk images of the corona and transition region up to 0.5 R(circle dot) above the solar limb with 1.5-arcsec spatial resolution and 12-second temporal resolution. The AIA consists of four telescopes that employ normal-incidence, multilayer-coated optics to provide narrow-band imaging of seven extreme ultraviolet (EUV) band passes centered on specific lines: Fe XVIII (94 angstrom), Fe VIII, XXI (131 angstrom), Fe IX (171 angstrom), Fe XII, XXIV (193 angstrom), Fe XIV (211 angstrom), He II (304 angstrom), and Fe XVI (335 angstrom). One telescope observes C IV (near 1600 angstrom) and the nearby continuum (1700 angstrom) and has a filter that observes in the visible to enable coalignment with images from other telescopes. The temperature diagnostics of the EUV emissions cover the range from 6 x 10(4) K to 2 x 10(7) K. The AIA was launched as a part of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) mission on 11 February 2010. AIA will advance our understanding of the mechanisms of solar variability and of how the Sun's energy is stored and released into the heliosphere and geospace.