This composite view shows the Sun as it appeared on Jan. “STEREO broke that tether and gave us a view of the Sun as a three-dimensional object.” “Prior to that we were ‘tethered’ to the Sun-Earth line – we only saw one side of the Sun at a time,” said Lika Guhathakurta, STEREO program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. For the first time, humanity saw our Sun as a complete sphere. 6, 2011, the mission achieved another landmark: STEREO-A and -B reached a 180-degree separation in their orbits. STEREO-A (for “Ahead”) advanced its lead on Earth as STEREO-B (for “Behind”) lagged behind, both charting Earth-like orbits around the Sun.ĭuring the first years after launch, the dual-spacecraft mission achieved its landmark goal: providing the first stereoscopic, or multiple-perspective, view of our closest star. 25, 2006, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The twin STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) spacecraft launched on Oct. The crossing comes one day before Venus passes between the Sun and Earth, though the planet will appear 10 degrees below the Sun from Earth's view and outside of STEREO-A's field of view.Ĭredits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio/Tom Bridgman NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft will cross the Sun-Earth line on Aug. The visit home brings a special chance for the spacecraft to collaborate with NASA missions near Earth and reveal new insights into our closest star. 12, 2023, NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft will pass between the Sun and Earth, marking the first Earth flyby of the nearly 17-year-old mission.
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