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The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
The SOHO mission is a part of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
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European Space Agency
Learn more about NASA's involvement with ESA.
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Artist concept of space weather showing an active Sun with flares and a CME in the upper right, the Earth in the lower right with types of technology affected by space weather to the lower left; satellites, airplanes, the ISS and ground-based electrical lines.
Heliophysics

Studying the Sun-Earth connection.

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Latest News

NASA's SDO Observes Mid-level Solar Flare

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare on the right side of the sun on May 22, 2013.
05.22.13

The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, an M7 class, on the morning of May 22, 2013.


NASA’s STEREO Detects a CME From the Sun

A combined view from two NASA satellites of the coronal mass ejection that occurred on May 17, 2013, at 5:36 EDT.
05.17.13

On 5:24 a.m. EDT on May 17, 2013, the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME, a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of solar particles into space.


The Sun Sends Two CMEs Toward Mercury

SOHO captured this image of a coronal mass ejection escaping the sun on the morning of April 25, 2013, at 6:00 a.m. EDT.
04.25.13

On the night of April 24 and the morning of April 25, 2013, the sun erupted with two coronal mass ejections (CMEs), solar phenomena that can send billions of tons of solar particles into space.

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SOHO Mission

    The Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) project is a cooperative effort between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. SOHO was designed to study the internal structure of the Sun, its extensive outer atmosphere and the origin of the solar wind, the stream of highly ionized gas that blows continuously outward through the Solar System.

    SOHO was launched on December 2, 1995. The SOHO spacecraft was built in Europe by an industry team led by Matra, and instruments were provided by European and American scientists. NASA was responsible for the launch and is now responsible for mission operations. Large radio dishes around the world which form NASA's Deep Space Network are used to track the spacecraft beyond the Earth's orbit. Mission control is based at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Mission News

  • Three Solar Eruptions in 2 Days

    04.21.13 - The sun erupted three times over April 20 and 21, sending billions of tons of solar particles into space. The eruptions (called CMEs) were not Earth-directed.

  • Spring Fling: Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare

    04.16.13 - The CME impact on April 13 was weak but it still produced high latitude aurora. The sun emitted a mid-level flare, peaking at 3:16 a.m. EDT on April 11, 2013 accompanied by an Earth-directed CME.

  • Solar Storm Near Earth Caused by Fast CME

    03.17.13 - Friday's fast moving CME has reached Earth and sparked a mild geomagnetic storm. Will higher latitude skies be turned green for St. Patrick's Day?

  • Sun Spits Out Two CMEs

    03.13.13 - A coronal mass ejection (CME) began at 8:36 p.m. EDT on March 12, 2013, and may pass by three NASA satellites: Spitzer, Kepler and Epoxi. A second CME began at 6:54 a.m. EDT on March 13, 2013 and may pass Earth.

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