First ever PHOTOS of the entire Sun: NASA

NASA has released the first complete view of the sun's entire surface and atmosphere, confirming "officially" that Sun is a sphere.

An artist's rendering of the twin STEREO spacecraft observing an erupting sun, released by NASA on February 6.

According to NASA, seeing the whole sun front and back simultaneously will enable significant advances in space weather forecasting for Earth, and improve planning for future robotic or crewed spacecraft missions throughout the solar system.



"These views are the result of observations by NASA's two Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft. The duo are on diametrically opposite sides of the sun, 180 degrees apart. One is ahead of Earth in its orbit, the other trailing behind," NASA said in a statement.

Latest image of the far side of the Sun based on high resolution STEREO data, taken on Feb. 6, 2011 at 23:56 UT when there was still a small gap between the STEREO Ahead and Behind data. "This gap will start to close on Feb. 6, when the spacecraft achieve 180 degree separation, and will completely close over the next several days," NASA stated.

An artist rendering of the twin STEREO spacecraft (ahead and behind) observing the sun.

STEREO is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program within the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the mission, instruments and science center.

One of the twin STEREO spacecraft observes a solar Coronal Mass Ejection (CME).

Launched in October 2006, STEREO observed the sun in 3-D for the first time in 2007. In 2009, the twin spacecraft revealed the 3-D structure of coronal mass ejections which are violent eruptions of matter from the sun that can disrupt communications, navigation, satellites and power grids on Earth.