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4 Applications of Differentiation

Applications of Differentiation

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is an international project for the Chapter Sourced From: Application of Differentiation, from Calculus: Early Transcendental Functions 4e Chapter 3 © 2012
observation and exploration of the Sun. The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) is responsible for operations of the SOHO spacecraft, including
periodic adjustments to the spacecraft’s location to maintain its position directly
between the Earth and the Sun. With an uninterrupted view of the Sun, SOHO can col-
lect data to study the internal structure of the Sun, its outer atmosphere and the solar
wind. SOHO has produced numerous unique images of the Sun, including the discov-
ery of acoustic solar waves moving through the interior. Ton Kinsbergen/Science Source
SOHO is in orbit around the Sun, located at a relative position called the L Lagrange
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point for the Sun-Earth system. This is one of five points at which the gravitational pulls
of the Sun and the Earth combine to maintain a satellite’s relative position to the Sun
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and Earth. In the case of the L point, that position is on a line between the Sun and the
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Earth, giving the SOHO spacecraft (see above) a direct view of the Sun and a direct line
of communication back to the Earth. Because gravity causes the L point to rotate in
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