Lancashire hot spot

Scientists from the University of Central Lancashire are helping Nasa to shed fresh light on the Sun's secrets. The space agency launched the Solar Dynamics Observatory earlier this month, a satellite that will study the Sun's magnetic field and corona to find out what governs changes in solar activity and how they affect the Earth. Uclan is collaborating with Nasa to scrutinise, store and manage the images taken by the satellite and share them with the European scientific and academic community. Robert Walsh, director of research at the university, said: "We should start to receive the first images during the spring, and their unparalleled clarity will help us to reveal and unravel the mysteries of the Sun."