jefflucas
06-23-1999, 07:51 PM
Wednesday June 23 12:59 AM ET
<p>
<b><font size=5>Space Team Studies Far Side Of The Sun</b></font>
<p>
PARIS (Reuters) - Scientists have found a way of using a satellite to study the hidden side of the sun, which will allow them to
predict the arrival of potentially damaging solar storms, the European Space Agency (ESA) said Tuesday.
<p>
In a separate discovery, ESA announced that its sun-watching SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) satellite had also
revealed the largest shadow yet seen in our solar system, which was cast by a passing comet.
<p>
SOHO was launched in 1995, and has already detected a massive explosion on the visible side of the Sun, one that three days
later knocked out a U.S. communications satellite.
<p>
ESA scientist Jean Loup Bertaux and his team of experts have now found a way of using SOHO to get an image of activity on
the other side of the sun, providing an early warning system for previously unexpected storms.
<p>
``Strong ultraviolet emissions from active regions at the back of the sun behave like beams from a lighthouse sweeping over the
sea,'' Bertaux was quoted by ESA as saying.
<p>
The beams rotate through the sky with the sun, allowing SOHO to monitor the rays and establish what is going on out of its
direct sight.
<p>
``This method could be used in future studies on space weather, which is capable of disrupting orbiting satellites and
earth-based electronics,'' Bertaux said.
<p>
In another project, SOHO followed the Hale-Bopp comet as it blazed past the sun in 1997. Readings showed the comet
dragged behind it a 100 million km-long tail, casting a shadow which was more than 150 million km long in the sky behind it.
<p>
``This allows us to calculate directly the amount of hydrogen and water released by the comet -- about 300 tons per second,''
Bertaux said Tuesday.
<p>
<b><font size=5>Space Team Studies Far Side Of The Sun</b></font>
<p>
PARIS (Reuters) - Scientists have found a way of using a satellite to study the hidden side of the sun, which will allow them to
predict the arrival of potentially damaging solar storms, the European Space Agency (ESA) said Tuesday.
<p>
In a separate discovery, ESA announced that its sun-watching SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) satellite had also
revealed the largest shadow yet seen in our solar system, which was cast by a passing comet.
<p>
SOHO was launched in 1995, and has already detected a massive explosion on the visible side of the Sun, one that three days
later knocked out a U.S. communications satellite.
<p>
ESA scientist Jean Loup Bertaux and his team of experts have now found a way of using SOHO to get an image of activity on
the other side of the sun, providing an early warning system for previously unexpected storms.
<p>
``Strong ultraviolet emissions from active regions at the back of the sun behave like beams from a lighthouse sweeping over the
sea,'' Bertaux was quoted by ESA as saying.
<p>
The beams rotate through the sky with the sun, allowing SOHO to monitor the rays and establish what is going on out of its
direct sight.
<p>
``This method could be used in future studies on space weather, which is capable of disrupting orbiting satellites and
earth-based electronics,'' Bertaux said.
<p>
In another project, SOHO followed the Hale-Bopp comet as it blazed past the sun in 1997. Readings showed the comet
dragged behind it a 100 million km-long tail, casting a shadow which was more than 150 million km long in the sky behind it.
<p>
``This allows us to calculate directly the amount of hydrogen and water released by the comet -- about 300 tons per second,''
Bertaux said Tuesday.