image from www.tesis.lebedev.ru
Sun watchmen detect ‘overlooked’ flare
Published 10 April, 2009, 12:53
A joint Russian-Japanese sun mission has observed a flare, which may indicate the beginning of the long due activity cycle.
The flare was being monitored for over a day starting April 6, a report on the mission’s website says.
The event happened right at the border of the solar disc, in an ideal position for Russian Tetis and Japan’s Hinode satellites to monitor it.
Both observatories took numerous pictures of the flare detailing its development.
The resulting plasma outburst from the Sun reached Earth on April 7.
Strangely enough, the event was not registered by the American GOES system, which monitors solar activity, and is the main source of current information on it, the report points out.
Tetis-Hinode is a six-day mission that uses two observation satellites to simultaneously take pictures of the Sun, which will allow detailed imaging of corona areas, and analyse its special structure.
Over 50,000 photos are to be taken, giving scientists insight into the forming of the new solar activity cycle, which is now two years behind schedule.
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