Japan launches Sun 'microscope'

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[glow=red,2,300]Japan launches Sun 'microscope'[/glow]

Scientists have high hopes for Japan's Solar-B mission which has been launched from the Uchinoura spaceport.

The spacecraft will investigate the colossal explosions in the Sun's atmosphere known as solar flares.

These dramatic events release energy equivalent to tens of millions of hydrogen bombs in just a few minutes.

The probe will attempt to find out more about the magnetic fields thought to power solar flares, and try to identify the trigger that sets them off.

The ultimate goal for scientists is to use the new insights to make better forecasts of the Sun's behaviour.

Flares can hurl radiation and super-fast particles in the direction of the Earth, disrupting radio signals, frying satellite electronics, and damaging the health of astronauts.

Solar-B acts essentially like a microscope, probing the fine details of what the magnetic field is doing as it builds up to a flare

Prof Louise Harra, UK mission scientist

Solar-B lifted off from Uchinoura, at the southern tip of Japan, at 0636 local time on Saturday (2136 GMT Friday).

"It will take two to three weeks to transfer the spacecraft into its so-called Sun-synchronous polar orbit. From this position, Solar-B will be able to observe the Sun without having any nights for eight months of the year," said Professor Tetsuya Watanabe, of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ).

As is customary on Japanese missions, the satellite will get a new name once it is ready to begin its work.

The spacecraft, developed by the Japanese space agency (Jaxa) and the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, has scientific and engineering contributions from, principally, the US and the UK.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5371162.stm