A Year on the Sun Through Our Satellite’s Eyes
Did you know we’re watching the Sun 24/7 from space?
We use a whole fleet of satellites to monitor the Sun and its influences on the solar system. One of those is the Solar Dynamics Observatory. It’s been in space for eight years, keeping an eye on the Sun almost every moment of every day. Launched on Feb. 11, 2010, this satellite (also known as SDO) was originally designed for a two-year mission, but it’s still collecting data to this day — and one of our best ways to keep an eye on our star.
To celebrate another year of SDO, we’re sharing some of our favorite solar views that the spacecraft sent back to Earth in 2017.
March: A long spotless stretch
For 15 days starting on March 7, SDO saw the yolk-like spotless Sun in visible light.
The Sun goes through a natural 11-year cycle of activity marked by two extremes: solar maximum and solar minimum. Sunspots are dark regions of complex magnetic activity on the Sun’s surface, and the number of sunspots at any given time is used as an index of solar activity.
Solar maximum = intense solar activity and more sunspots
Solar minimum = less solar activity and fewer sunspots
This March 2017 period was the longest stretch of spotlessness since the last solar minimum in April 2010 – a sure sign that the solar cycle is marching on toward the next minimum, which scientists expect in 2019-2020. For comparison, the images on the left are from Feb. 2014 – during the last solar maximum – and show a much spottier Sun.
June: Energized active regions
A pair of relatively small but frenetic active regions – areas of intense and complex magnetic fields – rotated into SDO’s view May 31 – June 2, while spouting off numerous small flares and sweeping loops of plasma. The dynamic regions were easily the most remarkable areas on the Sun during this 42-hour period.
July: Two weeks in the life of a sunspot
On July 5, SDO watched an active region rotate into view on the Sun. The satellite continued to track the region as it grew and eventually rotated across the Sun and out of view on July 17.
With their complex magnetic fields, sunspots are often the source of interesting solar activity: During its 13-day trip across the face of the Sun, the active region — dubbed AR12665 — put on a show for our Sun-watching satellites, producing several solar flares, a coronal mass ejection and a solar energetic particle event.
August: An eclipse in space
While millions of people in North America experienced a total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, SDO saw a partial eclipse from space. SDO actually sees several lunar transits a year from its perspective – but an eclipse on the ground doesn’t necessarily mean that SDO will see anything out of the ordinary. Even on Aug. 21, SDO saw only 14 percent of the Sun blocked by the Moon, while most US residents saw 60 percent blockage or more.
September: A spate of solar activity
In September 2017, SDO saw a spate of solar activity, with the Sun emitting 31 notable flares and releasing several powerful coronal mass ejections between Sept. 6-10. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation, while coronal mass ejections are massive clouds of solar material and magnetic fields that erupt from the Sun at incredible speeds.
One of the flares imaged by SDO on Sept. 6 was classified as X9.3 – clocking in at the most powerful flare of the current solar cycle. The current cycle began in December 2008 and is now decreasing in intensity, heading toward solar minimum. During solar minimum, such eruptions on the Sun are increasingly rare, but history has shown that they can nonetheless be intense.
September: A trio of tempests
Three distinct solar active regions with towering arches rotated into SDO’s view over a three-day period from Sept. 24-26. Charged particles spinning along the ever-changing magnetic field lines above the active regions trace out the magnetic field in extreme ultraviolet light, a type of light that is typically invisible to our eyes, but is colorized here in gold. To give some sense of scale, the largest arches are many times the size of Earth.
December: A curling prominence
SDO saw a small prominence arch up and send streams of solar material curling back into the Sun over a 30-hour period on Dec. 13-14. Prominences are relatively cool strands of solar material tethered above the Sun’s surface by magnetic fields.
December: Solar question mark
An elongated coronal hole — the darker area near the center of the Sun’s disk — looked something like a question mark when seen in extreme ultraviolet light by SDO on Dec. 21-22. Coronal holes are magnetically open areas on the Sun that allow high-speed solar wind to gush out into space. They appear as dark areas when seen in certain wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light.
For all the latest on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, visit nasa.gov/sdo. Keep up with the latest on the Sun on Twitter @NASASun or at facebook.com/NASASunScience.
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