NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is currently in the 'integration and test' phase of mission development, (i.e. observatory is now complete with the spacecraft bus, propulsion module and instruments), the ground system is being completed and flight software is being tested. Critical systems testing has already begun and environmental testing of he observatory will be conducted in the near future as they continue towards a launch readiness date of December 1, 2008. This series of short videos shows the SDO spacecraft being assembled and tested with narration by the engineers doing the work. It will be updated until SDO is ready for launch.For more information on SDO, visit the web site http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov ||

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spotted three X-class flares on the Sun between February 21 and 22, 2024. Watch this video to see what those events looked like in several wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light that SDO captures. The video opens with quick shots of the three flares in different wavelength blends. The first is a blend of 131 and 171-angstrom-light imagery, the second is 171 and 304, and the last is 171 and 1600. Each wavelength highlights different temperature plasma and reveals different layers and features of the Sun. 131 angstrom light shows both the extremely hot plasma of flares (6-10 million Kelvin) and cooler plasma (400,000 Kelvin). Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDOMusic: "Serene Reverie" from the album Reflections. Written and produced by Lars Leonhard.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || February_Triple_Play_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [166.0 KB] || February_Triple_Play_Still.jpg (3840x2160) [2.1 MB] || February_Triple_Play_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [100.7 KB] || February_Triple_Play_Still_thm.png (80x40) [8.0 KB] || 14536_FebruaryXFlareTriplePlay_1080.webm (1920x1080) [26.0 MB] || Flare_Triple_Play_Captions.en_US.srt [811 bytes] || Flare_Triple_Play_Captions.en_US.vtt [772 bytes] || 14536_FebruaryXFlareTriplePlay_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [405.7 MB] || 14536_FebruaryXFlareTriplePlay_1080_small.mp4 (1920x1080) [166.7 MB] || 14536_FebruaryXFlareTriplePlay_ProRes_3840x2160.mov (3840x2160) [14.2 GB] || 14536_FebruaryXFlareTriplePlay_4k_25mbps.mp4 (3840x2160) [670.9 MB] || 14536_FebruaryXFlareTriplePlay_4k_50mbps.mp4 (3840x2160) [1.3 GB] ||

Short video showing the solar flare and subsequent prominence eruption and "arcade" of loops.Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDOMusic: "Beautiful Awesome" from Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Anemone_Eruption_131-171_Blend.jpg (1920x1080) [281.9 KB] || Anemone_Eruption_131-171_Blend_searchweb.png (180x320) [78.6 KB] || Anemone_Eruption_131-171_Blend_thm.png (80x40) [6.6 KB] || 13778_Anemone_Eruption_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [2.0 GB] || 13778_Anemone_Eruption_Best_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [718.2 MB] || 13778_Anemone_Eruption_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [220.6 MB] || 13778_Anemone_Eruption_Best_1080.webm (1920x1080) [16.0 MB] || AnemoneEruption_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [500 bytes] || AnemoneEruption_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [513 bytes] ||

Short video of the X1.5 flare emitted by the Sun on May 10, 2022 and captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory in three wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light that highlight different temperatures and features of the Sun's atmosphere, the corona.Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDOMusic: "Examples" from Universal Production MusicComplete transcript available. || May102022_X1pt5Flare_171-131-304.jpg (1920x1080) [979.2 KB] || May102022_X1pt5Flare_171-131-304_searchweb.png (320x180) [55.6 KB] || May102022_X1pt5Flare_171-131-304_thm.png (80x40) [4.4 KB] || 14160_May102022_X1pt5_Flare_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [829.3 MB] || 14160_May102022_X1pt5_Flare_Best_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [138.6 MB] || 14160_May102022_X1pt5_Flare_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [57.0 MB] || 14160_May102022_X1pt5_Flare_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.webm (1920x1080) [5.6 MB] || 14160_May102022_X1pt5_Flare_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [547 bytes] || 14160_May102022_X1pt5_Flare_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [560 bytes] ||

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spotted 11 significant flares on the Sun from August 12-18, 2022. Here's what that looked like at 171 angstroms, one of the wavelengths of light that SDO captures.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDOMusic: "Rhombus" from Geometric Shapes. Written and produced by Lars Leonhard.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Flare_Week_Still_1_print.jpg (1024x576) [359.4 KB] || Flare_Week_Still_1.jpg (3840x2160) [2.6 MB] || Flare_Week_Still_1_searchweb.png (320x180) [77.4 KB] || Flare_Week_Still_1_thm.png (80x40) [6.3 KB] || 14202_Flare_Week_August2022_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [359.6 MB] || 14202_Flare_Week_August2022_1080.webm (1920x1080) [25.0 MB] || 14202_Flare_Week_August2022_ProRes_3840x2160_2997.mov (3840x2160) [12.1 GB] || 14202_Flare_Week_August2022_4k_best.mp4 (3840x2160) [1.1 GB] || 14202_Flare_Week_August2022_4k.mp4 (3840x2160) [453.5 MB] || 14202_Flare_Week_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [2.2 KB] || 14202_Flare_Week_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [2.2 KB] ||

Flares happen when the powerful magnetic fields in and around the sun reconnect. They're usually associated with active regions, often seen as sun spots, where the magnetic fields are strongest. Flares are classified according to their strength. The smallest ones are B-class, followed by C, M and X, the largest. Similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes, each letter represents a ten-fold increase in energy output. So an X is 10 times an M and 100 times a C. Within each letter class, there is a finer scale from 1 to 9. C-class flares are too weak to noticeably affect Earth. M-class flares can cause brief radio blackouts at the poles and minor radiation storms that might endanger astronauts. Although X is the last letter, there are flares more than 10 times the power of an X1, so X-class flares can go higher than 9. The most powerful flare on record was in 2003, during the last solar maximum. It was so powerful that it overloaded the sensors measuring it. They cut-out at X17, and the flare was later estimated to be about X45. A powerful X-class flare like that can create long lasting radiation storms, which can harm satellites and even give airline passengers, flying near the poles, small radiation doses. X flares also have the potential to create global transmission problems and world-wide blackouts. ||

A new NASA spacecraft called the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) will deliver startling images of the sun with ten times more detail than HDTV. The goal of the mission is to help scientists zoom in on solar activity such as sunspots, solar flares and coronal mass ejections, thus improving forcasts of solar storms. The complete script is available. For more information on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, check out their web site at http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov. ||

Music Video - NASA's Solar Dyamics Observatory (SDO) will help scientists to better understand solar variability and aid in predictions of space weather. The new Ka band antennas at the White Sands Testing Facility in New Mexico will be the go-between the satellite and the SDO Mission Operations Contol Center. ||

These animations and web shorts explain how SDO's instruments will look at the sun and allow us to better predict how the sun will affect us in the future. ||

Scientists discover what there is, but engineers create that which never was. This special group of folks at Goddard Space Flight Center are creators, like any artist, but instead of working with art they are working wiht scientific, mechanical, or electrical things with fantastic problems to solve. Watch engineers talk about what it is like to be an engineer as they build, assemble, integrate, and test the Solary Dynamics Observatory (SDO) soon to be launched in early 2010. If you have a strong tendancy towards science and mathematics, and enjoy working and building things with your hands, then you could also come up with creative solutions, to create something, to do a certain job and do it well. ||