Bright spots and illuminated arcs of solar material hovering in the sun's atmosphere highlight what's known as active regions on the sun, in this image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, captured on April 20, 2015.
Bright spots and illuminated arcs of solar material hovering in the sun's atmosphere highlight what's known as active regions on the sun, in this image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, captured on April 20, 2015. These are areas of intense and complex magnetic activity that can sometimes give rise to solar eruptions such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
NASA/SDO
Space Telescope Snaps 100 Million Epic Solar Photos
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Jan. 19, 2015, was a red letter day for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory -- one of its instruments, having continually stared at the sun for 5 years, captured its 100 millionth observation of our nearest star. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) uses four different telescopes that work in tandem to grab 8 images of the sun, cycling through 10 different wavelengths, every 12 seconds. This rapid imaging allows solar physicists to better observe dynamic and transient events deep inside the sun's corona at extremely high definition. This high data-collection rate has therefore resulted in huge quantities of solar imagery, transforming our understanding of the sun. PHOTOS: The Psychedelic Anatomy of a Solar Flare To celebrate the 100 millionth observation -- a multi-wavelength, processed version of that image is shown here -- mission scientists have selected their top SDO moments in a special gallery , some of which are showcased here.
NASA/Goddard/SDO
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Since its launch on Feb. 11, 2010, the SDO has peered deep into the sun's multimillion degree atmosphere, known as the corona. The lower corona is of extreme importance to our understanding of solar science as it is the root of the space weather that often slams into our planet's magnetosphere. Solar storms can result in power outages and satellite damage, so SDO data has become critical understanding the extreme coronal environment and its role in launching flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) at Earth. PHOTOS: Simmering Solar Views from SDO Shown here, a medium-sized solar flare in 2011 caused a streamer of solar plasma to be launched into space. Known as a "trebuchet prominence," after the Medieval catapult that flung rocks and other objects into battle, this prominence flung plasma into space, curling and twisting. The whole process was captured by the SDO, providing a valuable glimpse into how flares and prominences evolve.
NASA/SDO
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The Solar Dynamics Observatory has done a lot more than studying the visible effects of flares and prominences, however. One of the most enduring solar mysteries is the mechanisms that drive coronal heating. In short, the sun's atmosphere is too hot -- it is home to plasma that is millions of degrees hotter than the solar photosphere (the sun's 'surface'). One of the proposed mechanisms behind this heating is the possible interaction between magnetohydrodynamic waves and solar plasma. Like vibrations along a magnetic string, these waves travel along the sun's magnetic field, energizing solar plasma, superboosting its temperature. Although solar scientists had strong indirect evidence of their existence, these waves have been hard to track down. But through careful analysis of SDO data, their fingerprints have been detected. PHOTOS: Ten Mind-Blowing Solar Views from the SDO
NASA/SDO
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On June 7, 2011, the sun famously 'kicked up' a huge quantity of cooler plasma into the hot corona. The process behind this is not fully understood, but the SDO was there to have a ringside seat, watching the material 'rain' back down onto the sun. Shown here, the cooler plasma is silhouetted by the hotter coronal plasma that the AIA's filters are sensitive to. ANALYSIS: Sharp-Eyed Solar Telescope Snaps First Photos
NASA/SDO
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The magnetic field of the sun drives the star's internal dynamics and drives the space weather, including the solar wind, that washes over Earth. The SDO has the capability of studying this intense magnetic field in great detail, using the sun as a solar laboratory of sorts, giving an insight to the magnetic environment on other stars. Shown here in this false-color image of an active region over a cluster of sunspots, huge magnetic arcs -- known as coronal loops -- can be traced out, a feat made possible by using the SDO's Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI) and AIA in concert.
NASA/SDO/HMI/AIA/LMSAL
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Getting an up-close and personal view of the sun is one thing, but the SDO has proven itself adept at studying the dynamics of comets that zoom around the solar environment. Shown here is the December 2011 close approach of Comet Lovejoy through the sun's corona. This timelapse composite image shows how the comet's tail evolved as the comet looped away from the sun. The tail's gas and dust can be seen tracing the sun's magnetic field, changing direction with time. For more stunning SDO images, check out NASA's picks and for daily sun updates, keep an eye on the SDO's mission site at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center .
NASA/SDO
This beautiful portrait of our nearest star was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), picking out the powerful and elegant loops of magnetized plasma reaching high into the sun’s corona.
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Captured on Monday, this SDO observation has picked out many magnetic features, particularly above several active regions that are shining brightly. Imaged through the SDO’s 171A filter, we are seeing the multimillion degree plasma stretching into the corona shining in extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths. The bright loops are magnetic field lines channeling hot plasma from the sun’s interior into space — these features are known as coronal loops.
The SDO is outfitted with a suite of instrumentation capable of viewing all layers of the solar atmosphere, from the photosphere to the high corona, filled with solar plasma of varying temperatures.
The hottest plasma can be found in the corona, thought to be heated via two key mechanisms — magnetic waves propagating through the superheated plasma and nanoflares that appear to be constantly cooking the corona.
Observations such as this help solar physicists better understand how the sun generates solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Flares and CMEs can have dramatic effects on the space weather surrounding the Earth, which can, in turn, impact power grids, satellites and even affect astronauts’ health.
“We know it is the interplay between the magnetic fields that trigger the flare, but we are still looking for a way to integrate our theory and observations to be able to predict exactly when an eruption will happen and how strong it will be,” said Michael Kirk, solar scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, in a NASA image release.
NASA’s SDO has been exploring the sun since it was launched in 2010 and has provided an unprecedented view of the solar atmosphere, capturing it in high-definition, continually monitoring solar activity for rapid, transient events that, before SDO’s launch, were poorly understood.
Source: SDO/NASA