Spacecraft return 3D Sun pictures
Monday, 23 April 2007

The US space agency (Nasa) has released the first 3D images of the Sun.

The pictures are built from data obtained by its twin Stereo orbiters which were launched in October.

The new views of our star will advance scientists' understanding of solar physics and improve their ability to model and forecast "space weather".

Of particular concern are explosive events that hurl billions of tonnes of charged particles at Earth, disrupting power grids and satellites.

These Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), as they are known, can also be hazardous to astronauts in space.

Stereo is an international mission led by Nasa and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland. the rest photo