20
Sep 11

Tests under way on the sunshield for NASA's Webb Telescope

Source: NASA News

NASA is testing an element of the sunshield that will protect the James Webb Space Telescope's mirrors and instruments during its mission to observe the most distant objects in the universe.

The sunshield will consist of five tennis court-sized layers to allow the Webb telescope to cool to its cryogenic operating temperature of minus 387.7 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Kelvin). (read more)

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20
Sep 11

Solar flares' secret

Source: NASA Science News

Sun at 171 Angstrom. Image credit: NASA/SDO.

NASA-supported researchers say that solar flares have been keeping a secret. The new finding, reported in the Astrophysical Journal, suggests that explosions on the sun could affect Earth even more than previously thought. (read more)

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