NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft are giving astronomers an over-the-horizon look at the 'dark side' of the Sun. This new perspective could lead to important advances in space weather forecasting and solar physics research.

St. Cyr notes that experienced ham radio operators can participate in this historic mission by helping NASA capture STEREO's images. The busy Deep Space Network downloads data from STEREO only three hours a day. That's plenty of time to capture all of the previous day's data, but NASA would like to monitor the transmissions around the clock.

"So we're putting together a 'mini-Deep Space Network' to stay in constant contact with STEREO," says Bill Thompson, director of the STEREO Science Center at Goddard.