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To study solar flares

NASA launches observatories to measure eruptions from the sun

CAPE CANAVERAL: Twin spacecraft blasted off on a mission to study huge eruptions from the sun that can damage satellites, disrupt electrical and communications systems on the earth and put space-walking astronauts at risk.

The two spacecraft, known as STEREO, for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, lifted off on Wednesday night, stacked one on top of the other, aboard a Delta II rocket. The lift-off was delayed by several minutes after launch managers became concerned late in the countdown that winds could blow toxic material over nearby Port Canaveral should there be an accidental explosion. However, the area was cleared of people, mainly government workers, permitting the rocket to soar off the launch pad with a roar.

Flight controllers cheered, applauded and gave each other handshakes after the spacecraft separated from the rocket less than a half an hour after launch. Scientists hope the $550-million, two-year mission will help them understand why these eruptions occur, how they form and what path they take.

The eruptions — called solar flares — typically blow a billion tonnes of the sun's atmosphere into space at a speed of 1.6 million kmph. The phenomenon is responsible for the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, the luminous display of lights seen in the upper latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.

"Of the bazillion stars that we have in our night sky, the sun is the only one that counts," said NASA scientist Madhulika Guhathakurta. "Any understanding or breakthrough we can make in understanding the sun and the sun's environment is of direct relevance to every human being on this planet."

The two observatories will provide the first-ever three-dimensional view of the sun by working in tandem in different orbits. NASA hopes information about the solar flares helps astronauts who fly to moon and eventually Mars in the coming decades. Astronauts exposed to the eruptions can receive a year's worth of radiation. — AP

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