[youtube]qp6zlrSr7LI[/youtube] NASA’s 3D imagery of the sunNASA has released a “first light” 3-D movie of the entire surface of the sun, coinciding with Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 6.
The footage was captured by two telescopes orbiting the sun in synchrony, on opposite sides of the star, as part of NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission. These special probes—STEREO-A and -B—detect four frequencies of extreme ultraviolet radiation typical of solar activity, including solar flares, tsunamis, and magnetic filaments.
Each probe photographs a hemisphere of the star and beams the images back to Earth, where researchers combine the two diametrically opposite perspectives to create a full sphere.
“For the first time ever, we can watch solar activity in its full 3-dimensional glory,” said Angelos Vourlidas, a member of the STEREO science team at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., according to a NASA press release.
“This is a big moment in solar physics. STEREO has revealed the sun as it really is—a sphere of hot plasma and intricately woven magnetic fields.”
The footage was captured by two telescopes orbiting the sun in synchrony, on opposite sides of the star, as part of NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission. These special probes—STEREO-A and -B—detect four frequencies of extreme ultraviolet radiation typical of solar activity, including solar flares, tsunamis, and magnetic filaments.
Each probe photographs a hemisphere of the star and beams the images back to Earth, where researchers combine the two diametrically opposite perspectives to create a full sphere.
“For the first time ever, we can watch solar activity in its full 3-dimensional glory,” said Angelos Vourlidas, a member of the STEREO science team at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., according to a NASA press release.
“This is a big moment in solar physics. STEREO has revealed the sun as it really is—a sphere of hot plasma and intricately woven magnetic fields.”
