SDO: Year 2
April 21, 2012 marks the two-year anniversary of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) First Light press conference, where NASA revealed the first images taken by the spacecraft. This video highlights just some of the amazing events witnessed in SDO's second year.
For complete transcript, click here.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
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Animators
- Steele Hill (Wyle Information Systems)
- Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
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Video editor
- Genna Duberstein (ADNET)
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Producer
- Genna Duberstein (ADNET)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Tapes
This visualization originally appeared on the following tapes:-
SDO: Year 2
(ID: 2012041)
Friday, April 6, 2012 at 4:00AM
Produced by - Will Duquette
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ID: 11742 Produced Video
SDO: Year 5
Read moreHighlights from the Solar Dynamics Observatory's five years of watching the sun.The music is "Expanding Universe" and "Facing the Unknown" both from Killer Tracks.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.Information about the individual clips used in this video is here.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO || February 11, 2015 marks five years in space for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which provides incredibly detailed images of the whole sun 24 hours a day. Capturing an image more than once per second, SDO has provided an unprecedentedly clear picture of how massive explosions on the sun grow and erupt ever since its launch on Feb. 11, 2010. The imagery is also captivating, allowing one to watch the constant ballet of solar material through the sun's atmosphere, the corona. In honor of SDO's fifth anniversary, NASA has released a video showcasing highlights from the last five years of sun watching. Watch the movie to see giant clouds of solar material hurled out into space, the dance of giant loops hovering in the corona, and huge sunspots growing and shrinking on the sun's surface. The imagery is an example of the kind of data that SDO provides to scientists. By watching the sun in different wavelengths – and therefore different temperatures – scientists can watch how material courses through the corona, which holds clues to what causes eruptions on the sun, what heats the sun's atmosphere up to 1,000 times hotter than its surface, and why the sun's magnetic fields are constantly on the move.Five years into its mission, SDO continues to send back tantalizing imagery to incite scientists' curiosity. For example, in late 2014, SDO captured imagery of the largest sun spots seen since 1995 as well as a torrent of intense solar flares. Solar flares are bursts of light, energy and X-rays. They can occur by themselves or can be accompanied by what's called a coronal mass ejection, or CME, in which a giant cloud of solar material erupts off the sun, achieves escape velocity and heads off into space. In this case, the sun produced only flares and no CMEs, which, while not unheard of, is somewhat unusual for flares of that size. Scientists are looking at that data now to see if they can determine what circumstances might have led to flares eruptions alone. Goddard built, operates and manages the SDO spacecraft for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. SDO is the first mission of NASA's Living with a Star Program. The program's goal is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the sun-Earth system that directly affect our lives and society. ||
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ID: 11745 Produced Video
Solarium - Resource Page
Read moreA child looks up at Solarium at the Goddard Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.Photo Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center || Solarium — a site specific, ultra-HD video installation — puts you directly in the heart of a mesmerizing show. The art taps into a vast reservoir of imagery from a NASA spacecraft, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).SDO watches the Sun in ultratraviolet light that is invisible to the naked eye. SDO takes a picture of the full disc of the Sun almost once a second. Each image has eight times as much resolution as an HD TV. The observatory records the solar images as a binary code, ones and zeros, which computer programs can translate into black-and-white pictures. Video producers can take these thousands of frames and treat them as footage, applying a cinematic tone conveyed through color correction, cropping, and applied camera movements.For b-roll of SDO footage, please see related media at the bottom of this page. ||
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ID: 11460 Produced Video
SDO: Year 4
Read moreThe sun is always changing and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is always watching. Launched on Feb. 11, 2010, SDO keeps a 24-hour eye on the entire disk of the sun, with a prime view of the graceful dance of solar material coursing through the sun's atmosphere, the corona. SDO's fourth year in orbit was no exception: NASA is releasing a movie of some of SDO's best sightings of the year, including massive solar explosions and giant sunspot shows. SDO captures images of the sun in 10 different wavelengths, each of which helps highlight a different temperature of solar material. Different temperatures can, in turn, show specific structures on the sun such as solar flares, which are giant explosions of light and x-rays, or coronal loops, which are streams of solar material traveling up and down looping magnetic field lines. The movie shows examples of both, as well as what's called prominence eruptions, when masses of solar material leap off the sun. The movie also shows a sunspot group on the solar surface. This sunspot, a magnetically strong and complex region appearing in mid-January 2014, was one of the largest in nine years. Scientists study these images to better understand the complex electromagnetic system causing the constant movement on the sun, which can ultimately have an effect closer to Earth, too: Flares and another type of solar explosion called coronal mass ejections can sometimes disrupt technology in space. Moreover, studying our closest star is one way of learning about other stars in the galaxy. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. built, operates, and manages the SDO spacecraft for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.SDO: Year One here.SDO: Year 2 here.SDO: Year 3 here.Information about the individual clips used in this video is here. ||
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ID: 3955 Visualization
Wispy 'Plasma Dancer' on the limb of the Sun
Read moreThis movie actually exhibits a number of interesting solar phenomena.The primary feature of interest was the whirrling tower of plasma on the lower right limb. || Half resolution (2Kx2K) movies from SDO. || Frame sets for 5x3 Hyperwall ||
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ID: 10972 Produced Video
Greatest Hits
Read moreEver since NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) began collecting images in April 2010, it has delivered incredible views of the sun ranging from stunning to downright explosive. In the past two years, the sun generated more than 1,000 outbursts, including solar flares, coronal mass ejections and energetic particles that travel to the edge of the solar system. By recording these events in multiple wavelengths, scientists can unravel the process by which the roiling magnetic fields inside and around the sun cause it to erupt. For example, the above image showing light at 171 Angstroms and colorized in gold reveals the looping arcs of particles that coalesce around magnetic field lines in the sun's atmosphere during intense periods of solar activity. Other wavelengths make different features more readily visible to the human eye. Watch the video below highlighting some of the most amazing moments witnessed by SDO in its second year of operation. ||
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ID: 3922 Visualization
Growing Active Regions: January 2012
Read moreA group of active regions appear during the rise of solar cycle 25. This is a view from SDO, 171 Angstrom filter. || Full resolution 4Kx4K frames at 2 minutes per frame cadence. ||
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ID: 3923 Visualization
The Active Region Trio: October 2011
Read moreA group of solar active regions, observed in October 2011 by SDO in the 171 Angstrom filter. || 4K by 4K frames ||
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ID: 3924 Visualization
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ID: 3929 Visualization
A Comet's Demise: July 6, 2011
Read moreA small comet evaporates away in its flyby of the Sun. || Full resolution 4Kx4K frames || This movie zooms into the location where the comet is visible as it passes in front of the Sun. ||
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ID: 3930 Visualization
Flares and CMEs: January 2, 2012
Read moreA small collection of flares and CMEs in 304 Ånstrom light. || Full resolution 4Kx4K frames ||
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ID: 3931 Visualization
Launching Filament: November 14, 2011
Read moreA large filament launches from the Sun in this sequence of 304 Ångstrom imagery from Solar Dynamics Observatory. || Full resolution 4Kx4K frames ||
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ID: 3932 Visualization
Survivor 2011: Comet Lovejoy vs. The Sun
Read moreComet Lovejoy makes a close pass to the Sun, and survives.The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is actually repointed to better observe the comet's approach to the Sun. || This movie zooms in for the comet approach and departure. || These are full resolution 4Kx4K images which show the instrument repointing. ||
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ID: 3933 Visualization
Sunspots on the Move: August 22, 2011
Read moreSDO/HMI movie of sunspots evolving across the solar disk. ||
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ID: 3904 Visualization
An X-class Flare of Solar Cycle 24 as Seen by SDO
Read moreAn X1.1 flare was seen by SDO on March 5, 2012. This is the view from the 171 Angstrom filter. || These are full-view frames and movies of the X-class flare event. ||
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ID: 3920 Visualization
The Rising Solar Cycle: X5.4 Flare ('W' sunspot group) seen by SDO
Read moreSunspot group 1429 of solar cycle 24 has launched an X5.4 flare can coronal mass ejection (CME) that is forecast to impact the EarthThis visualization has the full 4Kx4K frames from the 17.1 nm and 13.1 nm filters on the Solar Dynamics Observatory. 2Kx2K MPEG-4 movies are also available. || The solar flare in the 171A (17.1nm) filter || The solar flare in the 131angstrom (13.1nm) filter. ||
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ID: 3918 Visualization
Solar Flare & CME from January 2012
Read moreA solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by SDO in January 2012. || A movie of the solar flare event. ||
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ID: 3839 Visualization
Incredible Solar Flare, Prominence Eruption and CME Event (171 angstroms)
Read moreOn June 7, 2011, an M-2 flare occurred on the Sun which released a very large coronal mass ejection (CME). Much of the ejected material is much cooler (less than about 80,000K) and therefore appears dark against the brighter solar disk.Material which does not reach solar escape velocity can be seen falling back and striking the solar surface, sometimes triggering smaller events.This image sequence is captured at one minute intervals and designed to play synchronously with animations 3838 (304 Ångstroms), 3840 (211 Ångstroms) and 3841 (1700 Ångstroms). ||
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ID: 3840 Visualization
Incredible Solar Flare, Prominence Eruption and CME Event (211 angstroms)
Read moreOn June 7, 2011, an M-2 flare occurred on the Sun which released a very large coronal mass ejection (CME). Much of the ejected material is much cooler (less than about 80,000K) and therefore appears dark against the brighter solar disk.Material which does not reach solar escape velocity can be seen falling back and striking the solar surface, sometimes triggering smaller events.This image sequence is captured at one minute intervals and designed to play synchronously with animations 3839 (171 Ångstroms), 3838 (304 Ångstroms) and 3841 (1700 Ångstroms). ||
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ID: 3838 Visualization
Incredible Solar Flare, Prominence Eruption and CME Event (304 angstroms)
Read moreOn June 7, 2011, an M-2 flare occurred on the Sun which released a very large coronal mass ejection (CME). Much of the ejected material is much cooler (less than about 80,000K) and therefore appears dark against the brighter solar disk.Material which does not reach solar escape velocity can be seen falling back and striking the solar surface, sometimes triggering smaller events.This image sequence is captured at one minute intervals and designed to play synchronously with animations 3839 (171 Ångstroms), 3840 (211 Ångstroms) and 3841 (1700 Ångstroms). ||
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