Have you ever wondered what the Sun looks like in motion? How it behaves and moves? Luckily for us, NASA captured the almighty solar object in 133 days and released an exciting 1-hour time-lapse video.
The solar activity from August 12 to December 22, 2022, was recorded by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).
Living With a Star
SDO was deployed in 2010 as part of NASA's Living With a Star (LWS) program, and ever since then, it has continuously observed the Sun in 4K x 4K resolution from its orbit around the Earth for almost 13 years.
Thanks to SDO, we have made numerous discoveries about our nearest star and how it affects the solar system.
NASA's LWS program aims to gain a better knowledge of the Sun for scientists to interpret and forecast catastrophic space weather that can endanger satellites and other infrastructure.
Every 0.75 seconds, SDO takes a picture of the Sun using a triad of instruments. Images at ten different light wavelengths are also taken every 12 seconds by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument.
The photographs in this 133-day time-lapse were captured at a wavelength of 17.1 nanometers, which is an extremely ultraviolet wavelength that reveals the Sun's corona.
The video combines 133 days, or roughly four months, of sun observations into 59 minutes by combining photos recorded 108 seconds apart.
Bright Active Patches
The bright active patches can be seen moving over the Sun's surface in the video. The loops above the brilliant areas are magnetic fields that have trapped hot plasma, according to NASA.
These luminous areas are also the origin of solar flares, which are intense flashes caused by the magnetic reconnection process in which magnetic fields collide.
NASA noted that even though SDO has kept a fixed gaze on the Sun, it missed a few opportunities. Earth or the Moon may have eclipsed SDO during some of the black frames in the video as they passed in front of the spacecraft and the Sun.
Data mistakes or downed instruments are the causes of other blackouts.
SDO and other NASA missions will keep an eye on our Sun in the years to come, offering new knowledge about our location in space and data to protect astronauts, satellites, and many more.
It is worth noting that the SDO is not the only one stalking the Sun. The European Space Agency's (ESA) Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has been analyzing the Sun since its launch in 1995.
The Parker Solar Probe was also deployed by NASA in 2018 and is currently the closest object ever constructed by humans near the Sun.
Meanwhile, the Solar Orbiter was just launched by the ESA in 2020. It is tasked to observe the Sun's polar regions and capture the closest-ever photographs of the star.
Related Article: 'Portrait of the Sun:' World's Most Powerful Solar Telescope Snaps The Face of the Sun in Crisp Detail
