NASA’s launch of Sun-observing satellite to be carried live today

Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)

LMSAL

Once again today, NASA scientists fail to listen to their mothers. The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) satellite is set to stare directly at the Sun following its launch later today. IRIS, an ultraviolet telescope, will join the Solar Dynamics Observatory and Hinode missions in studying the Sun’s atmosphere.

Somewhat bafflingly, the surface of the Sun is “only” about 6,000°K, while the upper atmosphere (corona) reaches millions of degrees Kelvin. The other two satellites have been observing both the surface and the corona to help understand why the corona is so much hotter. IRIS will closely examine a region between the two to monitor material moving outward at high resolution, tracking the changes in temperature en route. IRIS will only look at one percent of the Sun at a time, but it will be able to resolve features down to 150 miles across.

Apart from the general transfer of energy in the Sun’s atmosphere, researchers also hope to learn more about the formation of solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections.