Sun storm probe OK'd: 'Our motivation is a fascinating signal that we have detected for decades but never been able to make an image of'

NASA has formally green lit a mission to explore how the Sun whips up solar particle storms – those giant frenzies of charged particles that can frazzle orbiting satellites and destroy electronic systems on Earth. The mission, known as the Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment, or SunRISE for short, will send six small …

[Michael H.F. Wilkinson]

Interesting project

Basically a low frequency phased-array radio telescope (like LOFAR down here on the ground). In order to process the data, the precise position of the cube-sats relative to each other must be known down to a small fraction of the wavelength used, but at low frequencies this should not be a huge challenge

[Brewster's Angle Grinder]

Re: Interesting project

Yeah, stock interferometry. Their press release goes into a bit more detail.

The signals in question are observed down to 30kHz (10km). Although, according to the press release, they're only planning to look from 100kHz (3km) to 25 MHz (12m).

They're using off the shelf "GPS" which they think will be able to pin down the sats to under a metre (a fifteenth of the wavelength at 25 MHz) and claim the satellites' positions "do not need to be controlled to better than 1 km".

Good luck to them!

[Wellyboot]

Interesting science

Did anyone else read this and think that we could get a few more hours notice of a Carrington Event, but probably still not enough time to shut down all our electrical systems before it hit?

[Pascal Monett]

Oh my God !

We can do Science with toasters now ?

And to think I've always used mine just for browning my slice of bread in the morning. Sorry, Toasty, I'll point you to the Sun tomorrow morning and wait for you to talk to me, promise.

[Ken Hagan]

Re: Oh my God !

Old news: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brave_Little_Toaster

[Ugotta B. Kiddingme]

Re: We can do Science with toasters now ?

well, I would be a bit wary of any sporting a red LED which scans back and forth but, otherwise yes.

[Jimmy2Cows]

Re: We can do Science with toasters now ?

It's talking ones you need to swerve...

Howdy, doodly-doo! Would you like some toast?

[Danny Boyd]

Teeny satellites?

Does that mean they were produced between 2001 and 2007?

[diodesign]

Re: Teeny satellites?

No, means they are tiny ;p

C.