Washington, Oct 24 : An international team of scientists from the US, Germany, Spain and Sweden have successfully launched a solar telescope to an altitude of 120,000 feet on board a balloon.

The test clears the way for long duration polar balloon flights beginning 2009 that aims to capture unprecedented details of the Sun’s surface.

“This unique research project will enable us to view features of the Sun that we've never seen before. We hope to unlock important mysteries about the Sun's magnetic field structures, which at times can cause electromagnetic storms in our upper atmosphere and may have an impact on Earth's climate,” said Michael Knölker, director of NCAR's High Altitude Observatory and a principal investigator on the project.

The project, known as Sunrise, is an international collaboration involving NCAR, NASA, Lockheed Martin, University of Chicago (all US), Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and Kiepenheuer Institute for Solar Physics (both Germany), Astrophysics Institute of the Canary Islands (Spain), and the Swedish Space Corporation.

The ultimate goal of the project is to investigate the structure and dynamics of the Sun's magnetic fields.

The fields fuel solar activity, including plasma storms that buffet Earth's outer atmosphere and affect sensitive telecommunications and power systems.

The fields also cause variations in solar radiation, which may be significant factors in long-term changes in Earth's climate.

The 1-metre (39-inch) solar telescope is well-suited to capture features on the solar surface as small as 30 kilometres across, more than double the resolution achieved by any other instrument to date.

At an altitude of 120,000 feet, the telescope will rise above most of the turbulence of the atmosphere and ultraviolet-absorbing water vapour and ozone. It will be able to view stable images in the ultraviolet range, which allow for higher resolution than can be obtained from Earth's surface.

NCAR engineer David Elmore said, the balloon – larger than a Boeing 747 jumbo jet – was launched successfully with its gondola of scientific instruments on the morning of October 3 from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

It flew for about 10 hours, capturing stable images of the solar surface and additional data from the various instruments of the sophisticated payload. The gondola then separated from the balloon and descended with a parachute, landing safely in a field outside Dalhart, Texas, he said.

“We were able to verify the workings of the entire system end to end. We can now move on to planning the first full-scale mission with confidence,” said Elmore.

Elmore said the project might usher in a new generation of balloon-borne scientific missions that would certainly cost less than sending instruments into space via satellites.

Scientists could also test an instrument on a balloon before contemplating launching it on a rocket, he said.

The Sunrise project is scheduled next for a multiday flight over the Arctic in the summer of 2009, launching from Kiruna, Sweden.

By taking advantage of the midnight Sun, the telescope will be able to capture continuous images for a period of several days up to as long as two weeks, possibly orbiting the Arctic.

There are also plans to launch the project later on another long-distance flight over the Arctic or the Antarctic. (ANI)