NASA’ STEREO (short for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) observed the Sun’s magneto-sonic waves as they oscillated. These waves are a mix between magnetic waves and sound waves and through the conducted analysis it was found that the waves span 10 times the width of planet Earth.
Southwest Research Institute in Boulder made the following public statement: “We’ve tracked sound-like waves through the outer corona and used these to map the atmosphere… We can’t hear the sounds directly through the vacuum of space, but with careful analysis we can see them rippling through the corona.”
With the help of this research scientists were able to define the outer limit of Sun’s atmosphere. Furthermore, according to NASA officials, the findings will also help their scientists better prepare for the Solar Probe Plus mission which NASA plans to launch in 2018.
