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Antares and Sunspots at Sunrise

An Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen on the launch pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va., on Jan. 8, 2014. Dark blemishes can be clearly seen on the face of the sun. These are an intense, magnetically complex sunspot group that erupted with solar flares and coronal mass ejections while present on the sun. The eruptions resulted in enough radiation funneling into near-Earth space that the Jan. 8 Antares launch was postponed, as the radiation could have interfered with its computer systems. The rocket launched successfully on Jan. 9.

 

 

More info on how space radiation can affect rocket launches: www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/space-radiation-can-affect-r...

More info on the giant sunspot group: www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/giant-january-sunspots/

 

 

Credit: David Parrish

 

 

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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

 

 

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Uploaded on January 16, 2014
Taken on January 8, 2014