(Narrator) From a spyglass to satellites, our backyard to the very edge of our solar
system, every culture on every continent has observed the Sun. We have been
searching for the answers to the mysteries of time and the seasons, the
web of life on Earth and our place in the universe. Our Sun has always been
more than a ball of heat and light. Our Sun through curious minds and innovative
technology has allowed us to explore how the Northern Lights dance and how our
solar system may have formed. The Sun is ours to discover.
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Before sophisticated satellites brought us vibrant images and wavelengths beyond our senses.
People simply looked at the Sun. Although he was not alone in his pursuit in 1609 Galileo
Galilei pioneered the use of the telescope in order to observe and record
sunspots. His detailed sketches, produced over the summer in 1612, revealed that
the Sun was not a static orb in the sky but a dynamic force.
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Galileo's solar discoveries sparked an academic interest in the Sun. Leading
astronomers around the world to investigate how the Sun shapes life on
Earth. 400 years later astronomers with increasingly complex satellite images
investigate the origins and effects of the sunspots Galileo first observed.
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