NASA: Satellite to Study Space Weather from Sun Launches Wednesday

IRIS will take a closer look at the lower parts of the sun’s atmosphere, which is producing the spectacular flare shown in this image. Credit: NASA&JAXA/Hinode

UPDATE: NASA Launches Satellite to Study How Sun's Atmosphere Is Energized:
Link >>> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130628144808.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fspace_time+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Space+%26+Time+News%29  

UPDATE: Launch of NASA's New Solar Mission Rescheduled to June 27 
Link >>> http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2013/jun/HQ_M13-102_IRIS_Launch_Rescheduled.html

by Elizabeth Howell on June 24, 2013

NASA’s next solar mission will launch Wednesday, June 26 (if all goes to plan). It’s called the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), and it will zero in on a spot in the sun’s lower atmosphere known as the “interface region.”

“IRIS will extend our observations of the sun to a region that has historically been difficult to study,” stated Joe Davila, IRIS project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. 

Figuring out more about the interface region, NASA stated, will teach us a lot more about the “space weather” that affects Earth.

Some of the energy in the interface region leaks out and powers the solar wind, which is a sort of rain of particles that leave the star. Some of them hit the Earth’s magnetic field and can produce auroras. Most of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation also flows from the interface region.

More - :Link >>> http://www.universetoday.com/103098/this-energy-boosting-region-in-the-sun-will-have-a-new-nasa-satellite-watching-it/

Sources: NASA, UniverseToday.com .

More on the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS):
Link >>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interface_Region_Imaging_Spectrograph

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