Friday, December 08, 2006

Probe's close-up of Sun eruption


Japanese scientists have expressed their delight at the performance of the Hinode spacecraft which was sent into orbit in September to study the Sun.
The probe has returned remarkable close-up images of solar features that researchers hope will yield valuable new insights into the star's activity.
Hinode's primary goal is to investigate solar flares, colossal explosions that occur in the Sun's atmosphere.
The platform was built with the assistance of UK/US research teams.
The new pictures, which have been coloured and turned into movies, show the behaviour of sunspots, which are slightly cooler areas on the star's surface and marked by intense magnetic activity.

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