On February 11, 2010, a solar observatory launched into space ripped apart a sundog and created a new ice halo that amazed scientists. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/video-when-a-spacecraft-destroyed-a-sundog…
Tag: Solar Dynamics Observatory
Check out these new Sun Science stamps!
The US Postal Service announced that they’ll be releasing a series of stamps highlighting images of the sun captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/new-sun-science-stamps-2021…
SDO spies its 1st lunar transit of 2021
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has been observing continuously the sun since its launch in 2010. From its vantage point above Earth, it sees the moon pass in front of the sun 2 to 5 times a year. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/sdo-spies-its-1st-lunar-transit-of-2021-jan13…
NASA’s SDO spots first lunar transit of 2021
On Jan. 13, 2021, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, experienced its first lunar transit of the year when the moon crossed its view of the sun. The transit lasted about 30 minutes, between 12:56 and 1:25 a.m. ET. During this time, the moon happened to cover two of the spacecraft’s fine-guidance sensors, causing its view of the sun to jitter…
New sunspot cycle could be among strongest on record
A study of oppositely charged magnetic field bands, moving in the sun’s northern and southern hemispheres, suggests the coming sunspot cycle – Cycle 25 – will be a particularly strong one. This result contradicts an earlier expert forecast, suggesting a weak Cycle 25. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/sunspot-cycle-25-among-strongest-on-record-says-ncar…
What are coronal mass ejections?
Coronal mass ejections – CMEs for short – are powerful eruptions near the surface of the sun that can ripple through our solar system and can interrupt satellites and power grids on Earth. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/what-are-coronal-mass-ejections…
Scientists predicted a large sunspot. Now it’s here
Last week, scientists from the National Solar Observatory predicted a large sunspot would emerge before Thanksgiving. Now the sunspot – AR2786 – is in view. Here’s how they did it. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/nso-predicts-large-sunspot-thanksgiving-nov2020…
Can we predict large solar flares?
Solar storms pose risks for society, but more accurate space weather forecasts may be coming soon. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/can-we-predict-large-solar-flares-kasano-interview…
10 years of the sun in 1 hour
A new timelapse from NASA’s SDO Observatory condenses an entire solar cycle into 1 hour. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/10-years-sun-solar-cycle-video…
Video: A 10-year time lapse of the sun from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory
As of June 2020, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory—SDO—has now been watching the sun nonstop for over a full decade. From its orbit in space around Earth, SDO has gathered 425 million high-resolution images of the sun, amassing 20 million gigabytes of data over the past 10 years. This information has enabled countless new discoveries about the workings of our closest star…