Solar Explorers

The atmosphere of the Earth acts like a huge shield stopping harmful electromagnetic radiation like infra-red, ultraviolet and X-rays from reaching the Earth's surface3. Now, that's good for life on Earth!! However, to the astronomer looking for these types of invisible radiation, this is bad!!

Even when astronomers use instruments to observe distant stars in visible light (optical telescopes), this same atmosphere cause the images to blur and change in brightness - the stars twinkle.

Orbiting space observatories have been revealing many exciting and interesting of out universe that we would never be able to observe from the Earth. We are going to look at some of the latest that are revealing so much about the Sun. They are called SOHO, Yohkoh, TRACE and Ulysees.

Oh, by the way,

What do you call an alien spaceship that goes too close to the Sun?

Yes, I know it is bad but you try and think up jokes about the Sun!!