STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory)

[hassata]

Pretty cool stuff:

 

qLB5ma2Yz1I

[BiPod]

Interesting stuff. I still don't know how this information helps protect our systems. I assume they are shutdown but why is such a long warning needed? I've never heard a satisfactory explanation.

[zakobi]

Interesting stuff. I still don't know how this information helps protect our systems. I assume they are shutdown but why is such a long warning needed? I've never heard a satisfactory explanation.

 

The solar flare iirc have a habit with disrupting electronic installations, so the earlier we now they are on the way, the better we can make precautions.

[EtherealN]

Also, having eyeballs on the entire sun gives us better predictive capabilities, since we can see the beginnings of a CME as it happens on the other side of the sun (sun rotates, obviously, and very often the start of a CME is hidden from our view). It's kinda crap to plan a launch and have to cancel it when you knew a CME was brewing and you should wait with fuelling the rockets.

 

Fuelling a rocket and then having to cancel it is rediculously expensive. Stereo doesn't have to give much information to pay for itself in that way.

[BiPod]

Cheers. That makes sense.

[hassata]

awesome sun pics

 

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2048103_2235065,00.html

[Jinro]

As for the long warning, according to my Astronomy class, it only takes 8 minutes for light from the sun to reach earth. So if we wait until we see a solar flare or mass ejection come our way, we only have 8 minutes to respond.

[Rusty_M]

Cool, but I hate the acronym! Same as I hate the HEART acronym for the HOTAS Warthog. It's not a proper acronym.

 

I must stop being a bit of a pedant!