Sun  ID: 11062

Van Gogh Sun

Story by Karen Fox Released on August 14, 2012
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Making sense of complex solar questions can create beautiful results.
Why is the sun's atmosphere so much hotter than its surface? To help solve this mystery, a NASA scientist recently analyzed satellite images of the sun in a way that yielded colorful strokes reminiscent of a Van Gogh painting. But this is science, not art. Each processed, color-coded image shows how material in the sun's atmosphere changed temperature over a 24-hour period. Red, yellow and orange were chosen to represent areas that cooled, while blue and green highlight areas that warmed. Watch the videos to see a gallery of these scientific works of art and learn how they were made.
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While intense bouts of heating likely occurred, the dominance of reds and yellows implies an overall cooling.
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Learn why each processed image takes on a slightly different appearance.
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Imagery from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) was used to study the bright region slightly left of center, above.
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Compare this SDO image of giant coronal loops (left) to its processed counterpart (right).
 

Related Story

Van Gogh Sun

For More Information

NASA.gov

Story Credits

Visualizer/Animator:
Scott Wiessinger (USRA)

Video Editor:
Scott Wiessinger (USRA)

Narrators:
Scott Wiessinger (USRA)
Nicholeen Viall (NASA/GSFC)

Producer:
Scott Wiessinger (USRA)

Lead Scientist:
Nicholeen Viall (NASA/GSFC)

Lead Writer:
Karen Fox (ADNET Systems, Inc.)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11062

Keywords:
DLESE >> Narrated
SVS >> App
NASA Science >> Sun