The US space agency, NASA, has launched two satellites on a mission to study the sun in three dimensions for the first time.
The two-year Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory mission, known as STEREO, will be the first to view the sun from two separate vantage points outside Earth's orbit.
A NASA spokesperson, Dr Harvey Thorenson, said the mission would lead to a better understanding of violent explosions on the sun's surface, which can trigger severe magnetic storms on Earth.
