(Energetic and Relativistic Nuclei and Electron experiment)
Continuous measurement of energetic particle fluxes originating from the Sun and in the Milky Way. Also the so called anomalous cosmic ray component originating at the outer regions of the heliosphere falls inside ERNE detection range.
One of the scientific instruments of SOHO is the energetic particle instrument ERNE of the University of Turku. The energy eruptions in the solar atmosphere can lead to the acceleration of local gas particles to extremely high energies and their injection into the interplanetary space. These fast moving streams of particles are recorded by ERNE. At times, when there is no energetic particle production at the Sun, ERNE is observing the continuous flux of energetic particles from the Milky Way (galactic cosmic rays) , and from the boundary of the heliosphere accelerated by the termination shock (anomalous cosmic rays).
The two particle experiments of SOHO, COSTEP and ERNE, are carried out in the CEPAC collaboration.
