“It’s official: the Sun is a sphere” says NASA in a statement in which it has presentednew images of the solar surface and its atmosphere, which will give a vision of the star around which our planetary system revolves and will help improve weather predictions.
This work is the result of theobservations made by the two solar probes of the Earth Relations Observatory (STEREO), which NASA launched into orbit in 2006. The probes were sent to points diametrically opposite to the Sun, 180 degrees apart, to study how the flow of solar energy and matter affects Earth. Now, scientists have combined the two points of view to createa complete sphere.
STEREO telescopes are configured to capture four wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation, allowing them to track key aspects of solar activity such as llicks, tsunamis and magnetic filaments. In short, nothing that happens in the star escapes your attention. “The new images will help to improve the planning of future missions of robotic or crewed spacecraft in the solar system,” predict NASA experts, who also hope “Great Advances in Solar Physics and Space Weather Prediction“.
In 2007 the instruments of the STEREO probes provided the first three-dimensional photographs of the Sun. And in 2009, the spacecraft revealed the double three-dimensional structure of coronal mass ejections, which are violent eruptions of matter from the sun, also known as storms. solar. These ejections can disrupt communications, as well as affect satellites and terrestrial power grids.
