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Figure 1: Left eye view of a stereo pair Click on the image for full resolution TIFF |
Figure 2: Right eye view of a stereo pair Click on the image for full resolution TIFF |
Figure 1: This image was taken by the SECCHI Extreme UltraViolet Imager (EUVI) mounted on the STEREO-B spacecraft. STEREO-B is located behind the Earth, and follows the Earth in orbit around the Sun. This location enables us to view the Sun from the position of a virtual left eye in space. |
Figure 2: This image was taken by the SECCHI Extreme UltraViolet Imager (EUVI) mounted on the STEREO-A spacecraft. STEREO-A is located ahead of the Earth, and leads the Earth in orbit around the Sun, This location enables us to view the Sun from the position of a virtual right eye in space. |
NASA's Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO)
satellites have provided the first three-dimensional images of
the Sun. For the first time, scientists will be able to see structures
in the Sun's atmosphere in three dimensions. The new view will
greatly aid scientists' ability to understand solar physics and thereby
improve space weather forecasting.
The EUVI imager is sensitive to wavelengths of light in the extreme
ultraviolet portion of the spectrum. EUVI bands at wavelengths of
304, 171 and 195 Angstroms have been mapped to the red blue and
green visible portion of the spectrum; and processed to emphasize the
temperature difference of the solar material. The structure of the corona
shows well in this image.
STEREO, a two-year mission, launched October 2006, will provide a
unique and revolutionary view of the Sun-Earth System. The two nearly
identical observatories -- one ahead of Earth in its orbit, the other trailing
behind -- will trace the flow of energy and matter from the Sun to Earth.
They will reveal the 3D structure of coronal mass ejections; violent eruptions
of matter from the sun that can disrupt satellites and power grids, and help
us understand why they happen. STEREO will become a key addition to the
fleet of space weather detection satellites by providing more accurate alerts
for the arrival time of Earth-directed solar ejections with its unique side-viewing
perspective.
STEREO is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program within
NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Goddard Science and
Exploration Directorate manages the mission, instruments, and science center.
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md., designed
and built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. The imaging
and particle detecting instruments were designed and built by scientific institutions
in the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, and Switzerland. JPL is a
division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.