Sun  ID: 4133

February 2013: The Busy Sun

Visualizations by Tom Bridgman Released on February 11, 2014
Even near solar maximum, with sunspots dotting the photosphere, the Sun can look tranquil and serene in visible light. In the case of these images from the HMI instrument on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the only obvious changes are the constant shimmering of the solar disk due to the bubbling of solar granulation.

But in ultraviolet light, in particular the 30.4 nanometer line of the helium ion, we see much more activity. Dark, wispy lines of cooler solar filaments (the term used for solar prominences when seen against the disk) stretch across the disk. The same structures, seen against the fainter glow of the solar corona, resemble slowly evolving flames on the limb of the Sun. Solar active regions surrounding the sunspots, appear bright in ultraviolet light.

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The Sun in the light of singly-ionized helium at 30.4 nanometers.
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4Kx4K full resolution frames of the Sun in the wavelength of singly-ionized helium.
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Sunspots in visible light.
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4Kx4K full resolution frames of the Sun in visible light.

Visualization Credits

Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Animator
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Producer
William D. Pesnell (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support
Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Project Support
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, the SDO Science Team, and the Virtual Solar Observatory.

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4133

Mission:
SDO

Data Used:
SDO/HMI/Continuum also referred to as: SDO Continuum
2013-02-19T06:00 - 2013-02-22T12:00
view all stories where this data set is used
SDO/AIA/304 Filter also referred to as: AIA 304
JOINT SCIENCE OPERATIONS CENTER - 2013-02-19T06:00 - 2013-02-22T12:00
view all stories where this data set is used
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.

This item is part of this series:
Solar Dynamics Observatory: Year 4

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Solar Active Regions
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Solar Flares
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Solar Ultraviolet
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Sunspots
SVS >> SDO
SVS >> Solar Dynamics Observatory
SVS >> Heliophysics
SVS >> Corona
NASA Science >> Sun
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Solar Activity >> Solar Prominences/solar Filaments
SVS >> Visible Light Imaging
SVS >> Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging
SVS >> EUV Imaging

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0