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On March 11, 2015, a solar flare erupted on the sun.

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This burst of x-ray light was witnessed by IRIS, NASA's Interface

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Region Imaging Spectrograph.

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IRIS give us our first detailed image of a layer of the sun's atmosphere, call the chromosphere.

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Boasting the highest temporal and spacial resolution to date, IRIS

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provides imagery and a special kind of data call spectra.

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In this composite, the spectra is shown vertically and the image horizontally.

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To create the spectra, a spectrograph splits the light from a given point

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on the sun into its discreet wavelengths.

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This technique allows scientists to measure temperature, velocity, and density of the solar material

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behind the slit. Thanks to IRIS, we can work to better understand

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what causes these eruptions.

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beeping

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beeping