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| Countdown renewed for solar probe | |
| (about 22 hours later) | |
| The US space agency will make another attempt to send its latest Sun probe into orbit on Thursday. | |
| High winds at Cape Canaveral, Florida, prevented its launch on Wednesday. The next hour-long launch window will begin at 1023 EST (1523 GMT). | |
| Nasa says there is a 60% chance of "acceptable conditions". | |
| An Atlas rocket will carry the Solar Dynamics Observatory, which is designed to acquire detailed images of our star to explain variation in its activity. | |
| An active Sun can disrupt satellite, communication, and power systems at Earth - especially when it billows charged particles in our direction. | An active Sun can disrupt satellite, communication, and power systems at Earth - especially when it billows charged particles in our direction. |
| Scientists want to see if they can forecast this "space weather" better. | Scientists want to see if they can forecast this "space weather" better. |
| The Solar Dynamics Observatory will assist this drive by investigating the physics at work inside, on the surface and in the atmosphere of the Sun. | The Solar Dynamics Observatory will assist this drive by investigating the physics at work inside, on the surface and in the atmosphere of the Sun. |
| "SDO is the solar variability mission," said Lika Guhathakurta, the SDO programme scientist at Nasa Headquarters. | "SDO is the solar variability mission," said Lika Guhathakurta, the SDO programme scientist at Nasa Headquarters. |
| Sunspots are forming; we're seeing the first big solar flares Richard HarrisonRutherford Appleton Laboratory | Sunspots are forming; we're seeing the first big solar flares Richard HarrisonRutherford Appleton Laboratory |
| "It is going to revolutionise our view of the Sun and it will reveal how solar activity affects our planet, and help us anticipate what lies ahead. | "It is going to revolutionise our view of the Sun and it will reveal how solar activity affects our planet, and help us anticipate what lies ahead. |
| "It will observe the Sun faster, deeper and in greater detail than any previous observations, breaking barriers of time, scale and clarity that have long blocked progress in solar physics." | "It will observe the Sun faster, deeper and in greater detail than any previous observations, breaking barriers of time, scale and clarity that have long blocked progress in solar physics." |
| SDO's instruments will return images with a resolution 10 times better than the average high-definition television camera, and those pictures will come back at a rapid rate, every few seconds. | SDO's instruments will return images with a resolution 10 times better than the average high-definition television camera, and those pictures will come back at a rapid rate, every few seconds. |
| The mission will try to unravel the factors that drive the Sun's cycles of activity. | The mission will try to unravel the factors that drive the Sun's cycles of activity. |
| A key goal will be to probe the inner workings of the solar dynamo, the deep network of plasma currents that generates the Sun's tangled and sometimes explosive magnetic field. | A key goal will be to probe the inner workings of the solar dynamo, the deep network of plasma currents that generates the Sun's tangled and sometimes explosive magnetic field. |
| It is the dynamo that ultimately lies behind all forms of solar activity, from the solar flares that explode in the Sun's atmosphere to the relatively cool patches, or sunspots, that pock the solar disc and wander across its surface for days or even weeks. | It is the dynamo that ultimately lies behind all forms of solar activity, from the solar flares that explode in the Sun's atmosphere to the relatively cool patches, or sunspots, that pock the solar disc and wander across its surface for days or even weeks. |
| SDO is being launched at an opportune moment. Recent years have witnessed a very quiet star and the spacecraft will be able to monitor the Sun as it stirs into life. | SDO is being launched at an opportune moment. Recent years have witnessed a very quiet star and the spacecraft will be able to monitor the Sun as it stirs into life. |
| "The Sun has been dramatically inactive," commented Richard Harrison, a co-investigator on SDO from the UK's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. | "The Sun has been dramatically inactive," commented Richard Harrison, a co-investigator on SDO from the UK's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. |
| "The last two years has had more than 250 days of no sunspots whatsoever. | "The last two years has had more than 250 days of no sunspots whatsoever. |
| "We believe this minimum is coming to an end; all the signals are there. We are seeing new active regions. They actually start at the higher latitudes in the Sun's atmosphere. Sunspots are forming; we're seeing the first big solar flares." | "We believe this minimum is coming to an end; all the signals are there. We are seeing new active regions. They actually start at the higher latitudes in the Sun's atmosphere. Sunspots are forming; we're seeing the first big solar flares." |
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| Solar activity varies greatly year on year (Footage: Nasa/Esa/Soho) | Solar activity varies greatly year on year (Footage: Nasa/Esa/Soho) |
| The UK is playing a prominent role in the mission. It has provided the camera detectors and their associated electronics, which underpin two of SDO's instruments. | The UK is playing a prominent role in the mission. It has provided the camera detectors and their associated electronics, which underpin two of SDO's instruments. |
| British solar physicists are also involved in interpreting the observatory's data. | British solar physicists are also involved in interpreting the observatory's data. |
| The $850m (£545m) Solar Dynamics Observatory will study the Sun from a geosynchronous orbit above the Earth, and will operate for at least five years. | The $850m (£545m) Solar Dynamics Observatory will study the Sun from a geosynchronous orbit above the Earth, and will operate for at least five years. |
| Its three remote sensing instruments are: | Its three remote sensing instruments are: |
| • Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager: will study the motions and magnetic fields at the Sun's surface, or photosphere, to determine what is happening inside the star. It will try to decipher the physics of the solar dynamo - the very source of Sun's activity. The dynamo regulates all forms of solar activity from the lightning-fast eruptions of solar flares to the slow decadal undulations of the sunspot cycle. | • Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager: will study the motions and magnetic fields at the Sun's surface, or photosphere, to determine what is happening inside the star. It will try to decipher the physics of the solar dynamo - the very source of Sun's activity. The dynamo regulates all forms of solar activity from the lightning-fast eruptions of solar flares to the slow decadal undulations of the sunspot cycle. |
| • Atmospheric Imaging Assembly: is a suite of four telescopes that will image the corona, the outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere. The AIA filters cover 10 different wavelength bands, or colours, from the extreme ultraviolet to visible. It will see details as small as 725km across. These images will be acquired every 10 seconds. Previous observatories have taken pictures at best every few minutes. | • Atmospheric Imaging Assembly: is a suite of four telescopes that will image the corona, the outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere. The AIA filters cover 10 different wavelength bands, or colours, from the extreme ultraviolet to visible. It will see details as small as 725km across. These images will be acquired every 10 seconds. Previous observatories have taken pictures at best every few minutes. |
| • Extreme Ultraviolet Variability (EUV) Experiment: will measure the Sun's energy output in extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths (this is called irradiance) with unprecedented precision. The Sun is at its most variable in the EUV. EUV rays can break apart atoms and molecules in the Earth upper atmosphere, creating a layer of ions that can severely disturb radio signals. | • Extreme Ultraviolet Variability (EUV) Experiment: will measure the Sun's energy output in extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths (this is called irradiance) with unprecedented precision. The Sun is at its most variable in the EUV. EUV rays can break apart atoms and molecules in the Earth upper atmosphere, creating a layer of ions that can severely disturb radio signals. |
| The UK is involved through the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Didcot; the e2v company in Chelmsford which made CCD camera detectors, the Mullard Space Science Laboratory in London; the University of Sheffield, and the University of Central Lancashire in Preston . | The UK is involved through the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Didcot; the e2v company in Chelmsford which made CCD camera detectors, the Mullard Space Science Laboratory in London; the University of Sheffield, and the University of Central Lancashire in Preston . |
| Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk | Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk |