|by Matt Nelson| For a team of scientists at the Laboratory for
Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of
Colorado, Boulder, the sun is shedding light on the future of
atmospheric research. For more information, visit the Goddard
Space Flight Center DAAC (now named the GSFC Earth Sciences
DAAC) and Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. Under
Principal Investigator Gary J. Rottman, the team has been
monitoring the Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment,
or SOLSTICE instrument, onboard the UARS (NASA's Upper
Atmosphere Research Satellite) spacecraft. Designed to study the
sun's ultraviolet (UV) energy, the SOLSTICE instrument has
created a standard against which future monitoring of the sun
may be measured. By comparing the sun's ultraviolet energy to
the UV radiation of certain bright blue stars, the SOLSTICE
instrument will allow for future studies of the sun's energy and
its effects on the Earth's atmosphere. SOLSTICE is an
ultraviolet spectrometer with three channels. By look