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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.
This image is a composite of left and right eye color image pairs taken by
the SECCHI Extreme UltraViolet Imager (EUVI) mounted on the STEREO-B and
STEREO-A 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. 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.
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 three-dimensional
structure of the solar material.
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.