Jim Butcher (American, B. 1944) "Probes of the Sun/Space Achievement" Signed and dated (1981) lower right. Original Oil painting on Canvas.

Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.

This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. Space Achievements 18c Probes of the Sun stamp issued May 21, 1981.

Two hundred and seventy miles above the earth provided an excellent vantage point for Skylab's solar instruments in 1973. Here the sun's ultraviolet and X-ray emissions are not absorbed by the earth's atmosphere but can be recorded directly, exposing a wealth of information unavailable to astronomers on the surface. Also, the extremely faint outer atmosphere of the sun, the corona, can be seen in detail from earth only during rare total solar eclipses, a few minutes at a time. Above the atmosphere, Skylab could observe the corona nearly continuously. These advantages governed the selection of Skylab's data-gathering telescopes: two X-ray instruments, one from American Science and Engineering, the other from Marshall Space Flight Center; two ultraviolet instruments from the Naval Research Lab and a third from Harvard College Observatory; and a coronagraph from the High Altitude Observatory in Colorado. The astronauts operating these instruments had great "scientific leverage." Watching televised displays in Skylab, they made decisions on when, where and how to use each instrument. The flight crews were only the visible part of an enormous behind-the-scenes effort. More than two hundred scientists and engineers monitored and helped plan daily operations of the instruments.

Image Size: 18.25 x 18.25 in.
Overall Size: 22 x 22 in.
Unframed.
(B06947)

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22 x 22 in