News STEREO satellites show the whole sun

[fireballs619]

Apparently, NASA's two STEREO satellites moved into place today, so we're getting the first images of the entire sun at once. Basically, the two satellites photograph a side of the sun, and then the two Images are combined.

"With data like these, we can fly around the sun to see what's happening over the horizon—without ever leaving our desks," says STEREO program scientist Lika Guhathakurta at NASA headquarters. "I expect great advances in theoretical solar physics and space weather forecasting."

Consider the following: In the past, an active sunspot could emerge on the far side of the sun completely hidden from Earth. Then, the sun's rotation could turn that region toward our planet, spitting flares and clouds of plasma, with little warning.

"Not anymore," says Bill Murtagh, a senior forecaster at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. "Farside active regions can no longer take us by surprise. Thanks to STEREO, we know they're coming."

That's good news I guess. I mean, who wants to get hit by a sneaky flare :lol:.

NASA

 

[n72.75]

Satellites can only tell us things at the speed of light...

 

[Izack]

Satellites can only tell us things at the speed of light...

Yes, but that's still fast enough to tell us what's happening on the far side of the Sun before it turns to face us.