Most computer glitches can be resolved with a simple question, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” It seems this simple instruction also applies to computers on board spacecraft orbiting thousands of miles away.
Earth’s host star can be quite temperamental, compelling astronomers to launch satellites and probes on missions to keep a close watch of the Sun’s massive flares. But instruments pointed towards the Sun have a tendency to acquire cloudy vision as the result of a mysterious layer that’s puzzled scientists for years.