It’s not actually a thing, but I bet it’ll happen. Once Google gathers a bunch of detailed information about the sun, they’ll slap the logo on it. I mean, they did it for Mars, right?
That Michio Kaku science guy just posted something really cool over at Big Think. It’s about the pair of STEREO spacecrafts NASA launched back in 2006. They’re dedicated sun spectators that, as their name implies, will take stereoscopic pictures of the sun. Both spacecraft have finally moved into optimal positions.
The STEREO spacecrafts will now allow us to maintain an unprecedented and clear view of the Sun’s activity for a period of about eight or so more years. Now we will be able to observe sunspots and magnetic activity on a level previously unavailable to Earth-based observations. One way that scientists track the Sun’s solar cycles is by observing and counting the sunspots. These sunspots are cooler dark areas that are caused by very intense magnetic activity, and with the Sun’s magnetic field being as large as the solar system, it’s a good idea to keep tabs on what it’s up to. In other words, the main thing we have to worry about is the solar flares that erupt near these sunspots. (Kaku)
Kaku even uploaded the first ever panoramic video of the sun. Though on YouTube, an overdub of a dreadful Avril Lavigne tune is not present. Thanks, man.
Much of the piece wonders about the interplay sun spots, solar flares, and earth’s atmosphere. How might we use this knowledge to predict potential problems to our infrastructure? Over the long term, interference with our electronics is simply a question of when, not if.
He’s not alarmist, or anything. This isn’t The Knowing. A solar flare isn’t going to vaporize the planet, no matter what Nic Cage thinks. I take comfort in the fact that soon I’ll be able to zoom in and out of sunspots and flares. I wonder if we’ll start naming them.
