On December 2, 1995, exactly 28 years ago, NASA launched the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, a sun-watching satellite also known as SOHO.
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (Photo: Exploratorium)
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Celebrates 28th Year of Being Launched
SPACE reports that on this day, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory celebrates its 28th year of being launched.
SOHO also known as Solar and Heliospheric Observatory was launched with a main objective to investigate the physics behind how the sun works. It also provides data for predicting space weather events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejection – which can cause problems for satellites and some infrastructure on Earth.
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On this Day: NASA Launched the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
According to Yahoo News, NASA launched the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory also known as SOHO on Dec. 2, 1995. It was a sun-monitoring satellite, a collaborative project between NASA and the European Space Agency that has been operational for 28 years.
Aside from predicting space weather or any other problems, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory was also a tool for discovering comets, something it wasn’t designed to do but became useful.
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on an Atlas 2 rocket and took about four months to reach its destination where the gravity of the sun and the Earth are balanced.
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