NASA releases first 3-D images of the sun from STEREO
|
|
NASA’s Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) satellites have provided the first three-dimensional images of the sun. For the first time, scientists are able to see structures in the sun’s atmosphere in three dimensions. This new view will greatly aid scientists’ ability to understand solar physics and there by improve space weather forecasting. To view the 3D image correctly, you must have 3D glasses. Credit: NASA
NASA on Monday released the first three-dimension images of the sun developed from data transmitted by the STEREO twin solar observatories, sent on a mission to better understand and predict solar eruptions.
The two-year Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission is the first to view the sun from two separate vantage points outside Earth’s orbit.
The nearly identical satellites act like a pair of human eyes, each picking up data that is correlated with information from observatories on the ground and in low-Earth orbit.
The space crafts “are in orbit around the Sun, basically on Earth orbit and they are moving apart about 45 degrees a year and starting now to be in position to actually start making stereographic measurements,” said Kaiser, speaking at a press conference.
“The main purpose of STEREO is to study solar storms. The sun has been doing solar storms for billions of years, with nobody really caring about until recently.”
Electromagnetic storms from the sun can affect “our power system on the ground, and present a hazard to astronauts,” said Kaiser.
NASA scientists want to be able to predict the effect of solar eruptions on the earth as efficiently as meteorologists make forecasts based on weather data, Kaiser said.
The space crafts, each about the size of a golf cart and weighing some 1,364 pounds (620 kilograms), were launched on their mission in October. They are providing the first three-dimension images of the sun and its corona.
Scientists of four European countries are participating in the mission: Belgium, Britain, France and Germany.
The STEREO mission has an unprecedented “broadside” view of the entire relationship between the sun and Earth, some 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) apart.
Scientists hope the mission will glean insight into solar activities such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), the most violent explosions in the solar system.
When aimed at Earth, these billion-tonne eruptions of the sun’s corona spew intense radiation, disrupting the Earth’s environment and endangering astronauts and scientific spacecraft.
Information on the CMEs would improve planning for space missions as well as over-the-pole flights, satellite communications and video transmissions, National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials said.?