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Lunar Prospector has experienced a significant amount of solar activity which
has caused an increase in the background noise that must be separated from measurements
through the processing of large quantities of data. Repeating every 11 years, the
solar cycle is a periodic phenomenon in which the overall extent of radiation (in
the form of solar particles called protons) produced by the Sun varies in a predictable
manner. A new solar cycle began in 1997, at which time sunspot activity peaked and
solar radiation was at its 11-year maximum. As such, currently, there are no confirmed,
analyzed results available for the APS experiment. Eventually though, scientists
anticipate that with additional measurements, this intense solar noise will be subtracted
out of LP's rich data and outgassing events will be mapped.
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