solar terrestrial relations observatory

The sun might seem like a pretty huge galactic blind spot, but we've already managed to glimpse behind it, and there's nothing there in the way of another Earth, says NASA scientist Michael Kaiser, "unless it's awfully tiny."

Prepare to be astounded: the image on the right is in . . . three dimensions

Seven months after its launch, NASA's STEREO satellite has sent back 3-D images of the sun. The Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (guess STRO wasn't a cool enough acronym) charts the flow of matter and energy between Earth and the sun, and maps out things like solar storms and coronal mass ejections--actually useful for us, since these storms and CMEs will be used to better predict the next blackout-inducing maelstrom.So what's NASA been up to while its probe undertakes a two-year photo shoot? Well, it's been typing up the instructions on
how to make your own 3-D glasses. (Hint: it's exactly what you'd imagine.) —Abby SeiffRelated Links:Solar stormMake your own specsThe sun in 3-D