Journeying Through 133 Days on the Sun: A Solar Odyssey. #nasa #solar #sun

"This #video documents solar activity starting from Aug. 12 to Dec. 22, 2022, captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (#SDO). Orbiting Earth, SDO has consistently recorded the Sun in 4K x 4K resolution for nearly 13 years. This data has led to numerous discoveries about our nearest star and its impact on the solar system.

Using three instruments, SDO captures a Sun image every 0.75 seconds. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (#AIA) records images every 12 seconds in 10 different light wavelengths. This 133-day time lapse displays images at a 17.1 nanometers wavelength, showing the Sun’s outermost layer: the corona. The video condenses 133 days, about four months, of solar observations into 59 minutes using images taken 108 seconds apart. Bright active areas move across the Sun's face as it rotates, about once every 27 days. The loops above these bright regions are magnetic fields containing hot plasma. These regions also produce solar flares, appearing as flashes due to magnetic reconnection.

SDO has continuously observed the Sun, with a few missed moments. Some dark frames result from Earth or the Moon eclipsing SDO between the spacecraft and the Sun. Other blackouts are due to instrument downtime or data errors. Transmitting 1.4 terabytes of data daily, SDO occasionally captured off-center Sun images while calibrating instruments.

In the years ahead, SDO and other NASA missions will monitor the Sun, providing more insights about space and ensuring astronaut and asset safety.

#NASA #SolarDynamicsObservatory #SDO #SunObservation #SolarActivity #SpaceDiscovery #SpaceScience #Astronomy #SolarCorona #SolarFlares #SpaceExploration #SunResearch #Astrophysics #SolarStudy #SpaceMissions #SolarImaging #SolarSystem #Sunspot #MagneticFields #ExtremeUltraviolet #SunRotation #SpaceSafety #SpaceInsights #ScienceAndSpace #SpaceWonders #nasa #sdo #aia #astronomy #astrophysics #magneticfields #scienceandspace #solar #solaractivity #solarcorona #nasa #nasavideos #nasavideo #nasa