A picture of one of the original SOHO posters.
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Image courtesy of NASA

SOHO Mission Page

Do you know why your radio doesn't come in? Solar activity and solar wind, sometimes cause problems for us!

Scientists are trying to figure out solar events. The SOHO mission is one way we are working to find the the answers. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory has been in space since 1995, giving scientists a lot of new information.

SOHO has 12 special instruments. They each have a purpose, and together they let scientists study the internal area of the Sun, its outer atmosphere and the origin of the solar wind.

The spacecraft has been through a lot since its launch. Scientists lost contact with the spacecraft for six weeks. Beeps that were sent out once every second finally regained contact with SOHO. It also has a weird orbit, so the planet never crosses in front of SOHO. This way the Sun can be watched at all times.

We have learned a lot from SOHO! It found tornadoes on the Sun's surface and went on a recent trip to the far side of the Sun, where it could see solar activity days before it would reach Earth.

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