Mar 1 2007

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NASA released images of solar activity captured by the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), a pair of spacecraft launched on 25 October 2006 to study the Sun. The images revealed a close view of the Sun’s activity, as well as a progressive view of the Sun’s radiation as it reaches Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists intended to use STEREO images to study the flow of energy from the Sun to Earth, in particular, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which can cause dangerous solar storms. STEREO Principal Investigator Russell A. Howard stated that the new view from the spacecraft would improve scientists’ ability to forecast the arrival time of severe space weather, enabling them to predict the arrival of solar storms to within a couple of hours, instead of within a day.

Aalok Mehta, “Photo in the News: Stunning New Images of Sun Captured,” National Geographic News, 1 March 2007.

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