Satellite duo picture entire far side of our sun for the FIRST TIME

Satellite duo picture entire far side of our sun for the FIRST TIME - Back in 1959 the Soviet Luna probe was the first to snap images of the far side of the Moon.

Now more than 50 years later scientists have finally captured the entire far side of our Sun.

The composite image was captured by Nasa's two Stereo spacecraft on June 1, 2011.

Far side: This image taken on June 1 was the first to show the side of the Sun facing away from Earth. Nasa Stereo scientists can now see most of the surface of our star at any one time

The space observatories are circling the Sun with one travelling ahead of Earth in its orbit and the other trailing behind.

The STEREO spacecraft reached their respective positions 180 degrees apart on February 6 but part of the star was inaccessible to their combined view until June 1.

This image represents the first day when the entire far side could be seen between the two. The picture is aligned so that solar north is directly up.

The seam between the two images is inclined because the plane of Earth’s orbit, known as the 'ecliptic', is inclined with respect to the Sun's axis of rotation.

The data was collected using extreme ultraviolet imagers on board the spacecraft, which were launched in October 2006.

Dr Robert Massey from the Royal Astronomical Society said that unlike the moon, which rotates with its near side always facing Earth, we do get to see the entire surface of the Sun over the course of a month.

However, the new STEREO pictures give us 'complete coverage all at once.'

The Nasa satellite-duo 'Stereo', pictured in 2006, orbit ahead and behind on Earth's orbit. They created the first three-dimensional photos of the Sun

'With data like these, we can fly around the sun to see what's happening over the horizon - without ever leaving our desks, added STEREO scientist Lika Guhathakurta at NASA headquarters.

'I expect great advances in theoretical solar physics and space weather forecasting.'

In the past, an active sunspot could emerge on the far side of the sun completely hidden from Earth. Then, the Sun's rotation could turn that region toward our planet, spitting flares and clouds of plasma, with little warning.

'Farside active regions can no longer take us by surprise,' said Bill Murtagh, a forecaster at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado.

'Thanks to STEREO, we know they're coming.'

Although Dr Massey cautioned: 'This situation isn't stable though as the two satellites will continue to change their positions so there may only be a brief period when the whole Sun can be seen at once.' ( dailymail.co.uk )