Anyone know where to get the 3D glasses?
<baa…@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:1177368893.166687.54700@y5g2000hsa.googlegroups.com…
- — -
> http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/stereo3DPressR…
> NASA Spacecraft Make First 3-D Images of Sun
> 04.23.07
> Rani Gran / Nancy Neal-Jones
> Goddard Space Flight Center, Md.
> 301-286-2483 / 0039
> DC Agle
> NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
> 818-393-9011
> RELEASE: 07-16
> GREENBELT, Md. – NASA’s twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory
> (STEREO) spacecraft have made the first three-dimensional images of
> the
> sun. The new view will greatly aid scientists’ ability to understand
> solar physics and thereby improve space weather forecasting.
> "The improvement with STEREO’s 3-D view is like going from a regular
> X-ray to a 3-D CAT scan in the medical field," said Dr. Michael
> Kaiser,
> STEREO Project Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center,
> Greenbelt, Md.
> The STEREO spacecraft were launched October 25, 2006. On January 21
> they
> completed a series of complex maneuvers, including flying by the moon,
> to position the spacecraft in their mission orbits. The two
> observatories are now orbiting the sun, one slightly ahead of Earth
> and
> one slightly behind, separating from each other by approximately 45
> degrees per year. Just as the slight offset between a person’s eyes
> provides depth perception, the separation of spacecraft allow 3-D
> images
> of the sun.
> Violent solar weather originates in the sun’s atmosphere, or corona,
> and
> can disrupt satellites, radio communication, and power grids on Earth.
> The corona resembles wispy smoke plumes, which flow outward along the
> sun’s tangled magnetic fields. It’s difficult for scientists to tell
> which structures are in front and which are behind.
> "In the solar atmosphere, there are no clues to help us judge
> distance.
> Everything appears flat in the 2-D plane of the sky. Having a stereo
> perspective just makes it so much easier," said Dr. Russell Howard of
> the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, the Principal Investigator
> for the SECCHI (Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric
> Investigation) suite of telescopes on the spacecraft.
> "With STEREO’s 3-D imagery, we’ll be able to discern where matter and
> energy flows in the solar atmosphere much more precisely than with the
> 2-D views available before. This will really help us understand the
> complex physics going on," said Howard.
> STEREO’s depth perception also will help improve space weather
> forecasts. Of particular concern is a destructive type of solar
> eruption
> called a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). CMEs are eruptions of
> electrically
> charged gas, called plasma, from the sun’s atmosphere. A CME cloud can
> contain billions of tons of plasma and move at a million miles per
> hour.
> The CME cloud is laced with magnetic fields, and CMEs directed toward
> Earth smash into our planet’s magnetic field. If the CME magnetic
> fields
> have the proper orientation, they dump energy and particles into
> Earth’s
> magnetic field, causing magnetic storms that can overload power line
> equipment and radiation storms that disrupt satellites.
> Satellite and utility operators can take precautions to minimize CME
> damage, but they need an accurate forecast of when the CME will
> arrive.
> To do this, forecasters need to know the location of the front of the
> CME cloud. STEREO will allow scientists to accurately locate the CME
> cloud front. "Knowing where the front of the CME cloud is will improve
> estimates of the arrival time from within a day or so to just a few
> hours," said Howard. "STEREO also will help forecasters estimate how
> severe the resulting magnetic storm will be."
> "In addition to the STEREO perspective of solar features, STEREO for
> the
> first time will allow imaging of the solar disturbances the entire way
> from the sun to the Earth. Presently, scientists are only able to
> model
> this region in the dark, from only one picture of solar disturbances
> leaving the sun and reaching only a fraction of the sun-Earth
> distance,
> said Dr. Madhulika Guhathakurta, STEREO Program Scientist, NASA
> Headquarters. Washington.
> STEREO’s first 3-D images are being provided by NASA’s Jet Propulsion
> Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. STEREO is the third mission in NASA’s
> Solar
> Terrestrial Probes program within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate,
> Washington. The Goddard Science and Exploration Directorate manages
> the
> mission, instruments, and science center. The Johns Hopkins University
> Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md., designed and built the
> spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. The STEREO
> imaging
> and particle detecting instruments were designed and built by
> scientific
> institutions in the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands,
> and
> Switzerland.
> For STEREO images, visit:
> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stereo/news/stereo3D_press.html
> For more information about STEREO, visit:
> http://www.nasa.gov/stereo
> For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:
> http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
