1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:05,080 [Music throughout] Announcer: T-minus 10, 9, 8 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:09,080 7, 6, 5, 4, go for main engine start, 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:13,080 3, 2, 1, 0, 4 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:17,080 and ignition and liftoff of the Atlas V with the 5 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:21,080 Solar Dynamics Observatory. 6 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:25,080 Narrator: SDO, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, launched on February 11th, 7 00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:29,080 2010 and has been watching the Sun for the last 10 years, 8 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:33,080 providing key insights into what drives the Sun’s activity, including the 9 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,080 space weather that our astronauts and spacecraft must travel through. 10 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:41,080 During that time, it has witnessed incredible solar events and enabled scientists 11 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:45,080 to make many groundbreaking discoveries about the Sun. Here are 12 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:49,080 some of the highlights. In 2011, scientists spotted 13 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,080 a special kind of ripple on the Sun called Kelvin-Helmholtz waves, which look 14 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:57,080 like curling ocean waves. They are also present on the Earth, 15 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:01,080 but aren’t the size of the United States. On June 7th, 16 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:05,080 2011, SDO spotted a huge eruption of plasma on the Sun. 17 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:09,080 This was the first time such a large event had been captured in such fine 18 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:13,080 detail. Two months later, on August 9th, SDO 19 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:17,080 observed one of the most powerful flares of this solar cycle. Flares are 20 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:21,080 intense bursts of radiation caused by the release of magnetic energy. 21 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:25,080 SDO records in many different wavelengths, including one tuned 22 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:29,080 to some of the hottest parts of the Sun, allowing it to see the full extent of 23 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:33,080 these solar explosions. On December 15th, 24 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:37,080 Comet Lovejoy seemed to survive a close pass of the Sun, but broke apart 25 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:41,000 a few days later. In 2012, scientists used 26 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:45,080 SDO's wealth of information to create a new, and impressionistic, 27 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:49,000 way to further understand temperature change on the Sun. 28 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:53,080 On June 5th, Venus transited the face of the Sun, an event 29 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:57,080 so rare it won’t happen again until 2117. 30 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:01,080 In July, SDO’s high resolution and rapid imaging 31 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:05,080 cadence captured a beautiful solar loop, where hot plasma condensed 32 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:09,080 out of the atmosphere, or corona, and “stuck” to the strong magnetic 33 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:13,080 fields pushing through the surface. On August 31st, 34 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:17,080 the Sun had a huge and beautiful prominence eruption that instantly became 35 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:21,080 iconic. Early in 2013, 36 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:25,080 SDO imagery helped astronomers see the early formation of 37 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:29,080 a coronal mass ejection, or CME, and the reconnection events that 38 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:33,080 result in solar flares. CMEs release giant plumes of 39 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:37,080 material from the Sun that speed across the solar system. They 40 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:41,080 can interact with Earth’s magnetic environment and are hazardous to spacecraft and 41 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:45,080 astronauts. The Sun was very active in 42 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:49,080 September and October, first forming what almost looked like a canyon and then crackling 43 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:53,080 with flares and CMEs for a week. 44 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:57,080 Comet ISON made its way around the Sun on November 28th, Thanksgiving Day, 45 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:01,080 but unlike Lovejoy, it broke apart immediately. 46 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:05,080 The Sun remained active in 2014, with many beautiful prominence eruptions 47 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:09,080 and bright flares. SDO worked in tandem with the new 48 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:13,080 satellite, IRIS, to help study these flashes. 49 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:17,080 On December 19th, just in time for the holidays, the Sun 50 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:21,080 put on its final light show of the year. 51 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,080 The Sun has a cycle of activity, lasting an average of 11 years, 52 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,080 called the solar cycle. 2015 marked the beginning 53 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:33,080 of the decrease in this cycle with fewer flares and eruptions. 54 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,080 On May 10th, 2016, 55 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:41,080 SDO saw another transit, this time from Mercury. It looks much 56 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:45,080 smaller because not only is the planet smaller than Venus, it’s also farther 57 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:49,080 away from Earth, where SDO is orbiting at 22,000 miles 58 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:53,080 above the surface in a geosynchronous orbit. 59 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,080 The solar cycle had its last gasp of activity in 2017. 60 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:01,080 In July, a large sunspot made its way across the face 61 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:05,080 as the Sun rotated. Then in September, a final burst 62 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:09,080 of flare activity, including the strongest flares since 2001, 63 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:13,080 exploded off the Sun. Since this activity, 64 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:17,080 the Sun has been pretty quiet, sinking into the lowest point of the 65 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:21,080 solar activity cycle. Scientists were still able to go back through 66 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:25,080 old SDO data and discover a new kind of explosion, called forced 67 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:29,080 magnetic reconnection. On November 11th, 2019, 68 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:33,080 Mercury transited across the Sun again, this time with a much more 69 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:37,080 sedate backdrop. SDO scientists 70 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:41,080 are aiming to continue watching the Sun for at least another three years, 71 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,080 and the spacecraft could even last another decade. During 72 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:49,080 this time it should witness the rise of the next solar cycle and an increase in 73 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:53,080 solar activity. Without a doubt, SDO’s last 74 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:57,080 ten years changed how we looked at, and thought about, our nearest star. 75 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,080 Who knows what the next ten might bring? 76 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:05,000 [Music] 77 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:12,620 [Music] 78 00:05:12,620 --> 00:05:12,619 [Music]