“Besides understanding the structure and origin of CMEs, the new 3D imaging technique may lead to better predictions of arrival times and impact angles at the Earth,” Moran told PhysicsWeb. “This may help in planning protective measures for satellites and astronauts.”
The physicists plan to analyse more data from LASCO, and also hope to repeat their experiments with the STEREO mission, which NASA plans to launch in 2006. “STEREO will launch two identical spacecraft to image the Sun and will use both polarization and tomography methods, which will provide more information than either method separately,” said Moran.