Saturday, February 12, 2011

The Sun in 3D (no glasses needed)

This week NASA released the first pictures of our sun in 3D.  Back in 2006, NASA sent into space two probes called STEREO probes and now those satellites are in place orbiting the sun and sending images back to Earth in Stereo.  Click here to see a link of the Sun in 3D.
The STEREO probes (called A and B) are located 180 degrees apart on essentially on either sides of the sun.  With the 3D view o the sun, scientists can better monitor solar flares and predict the path -of solar storms.  For example, in August 2010, scientists observed a massive solar storm – link here to see the solar storm.  If the STEREO mission had been in place at that time, scientists could have better observed the path of the storm around the sun.

No comments:

Post a Comment