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NASA To Explore "Secret Layer" of the Sun

Posted by Soulskill on from the don't-forget-your-metaphasic-shields dept.

SpaceAdmiral brings news that NASA will be launching a telescope next April, called Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation (SUMI), which will examine what is called the "transition region" between the Sun's corona and the chromosphere. Scientists have studied characteristics of the Sun around this region before, but never within it. NASA notes: "It is a place in the sun's atmosphere, about 5000 km above the stellar surface, where magnetic fields overwhelm the pressure of matter and seize control of the sun's gases. It's where solar flares explode, where coronal mass ejections begin their journey to Earth, where the solar wind is mysteriously accelerated to a million mph. It is, in short, the birthplace of space weather."

3 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. Why bother with the Sun... by actionbastard · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    They should explore the ninth level of Hell to see if Saddam is there with his WMDs or a dildo.

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    Sig this!
  2. Re:If you had to choose... by chibiace · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    can i choose morgan freeman?

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    he who controls the spice controls the universe
  3. Re:If you had to choose... by doti · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    so you would be both?

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    factor 966971: 966971