Watch Out for Solar Sail Flares

Tuesday, February 1, 2011 - 15:30 in Astronomy & Space

NASA's first Earth-orbiting solar sail, NanoSail-D, is circling our planet and attracting the attention of sky watchers. Occasionally, sunlight glinting from the sail's reflective fabric produces a flash of light in the night sky. These "solar sail flares" are expected to grow brighter as NanoSail-D descends in the weeks ahead.

Read the whole article on Science @ NASA

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