{"collection":{"version":"1.0","href":"http://images-api.nasa.gov/search?q=Sun","items":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA18906/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Sun Shines in High-Energy X-rays","nasa_id":"PIA18906","date_created":"2014-12-22T18:53:13Z","keywords":["Sun","NuSTAR"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"X-rays stream off the sun in this first picture of the sun, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory SDO, taken by NASA NuSTAR. The field of view covers the west limb of the sun.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC","description":"X-rays stream off the sun in this first picture of the sun, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory SDO, taken by NASA NuSTAR. The field of view covers the west limb of the sun."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA18906/PIA18906~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/XRT20170910_Al_poly_noaxis/collection.json","data":[{"description":"On Sept. 10, 2017, the Hinode satellite observed an enormous X-class flare burst from an active region on the western edge of the Sun. The video shows the high-energy flare as seen by Hinode's X-Ray Telescope. The emission was so bright that the initial blast caused the detector to saturate. The giant explosion sent a huge cloud of superhot plasma zooming into interplanetary space -- a phenomenon known as a coronal mass ejection. Studying large flares like this one with a variety of instruments is key to understanding exactly what causes these dramatic eruptions, and one day predicting them before they occur.","title":"Hinode Takes an X-Ray of a Powerful Solar Flare","photographer":"JAXA/NASA/Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory/Montana State University","location":"Sun","nasa_id":"XRT20170910_Al_poly_noaxis","media_type":"video","keywords":["NASA","Marshall Space Flight Center","MSFC","Hinode","x-ray telescope","sun","solar flare"],"date_created":"2017-09-10T00:00:00Z","description_508":"On Sept. 10, 2017, the Hinode satellite observed an enormous X-class flare burst from an active region on the western edge of the Sun.","secondary_creator":"JAXA/NASA/Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory/Montana State University","center":"MSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/XRT20170910_Al_poly_noaxis/XRT20170910_Al_poly_noaxis~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/XRT20170910_Al_poly_noaxis/XRT20170910_Al_poly_noaxis.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_1/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun-Earth Day 2009 Promo 1","photographer":"Ryan Fitzgibbons, Chris Smith","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_1","media_type":"video","keywords":["Sun","Sun-Earth Interactions","Education","Earth"],"date_created":"2009-03-18T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Short promo for Sun-Earth Day 2009 featuring scientists and students talking about the most fascinating things they've learned about our sun.","secondary_creator":"Ryan Fitzgibbons, Chris Smith,","description":"Short promo for Sun-Earth Day 2009 featuring scientists and students talking about the most fascinating things they've learned about our sun."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_1/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_1~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_1/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_1.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_2/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun-Earth Day 2009 Promo 2","photographer":"Ryan Fitzgibbons, Chris Smith","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_2","media_type":"video","keywords":["Sun","Sun-Earth Interactions","Education","Earth"],"date_created":"2009-03-18T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Second short promo for Sun-Earth Day 2009 featuring more people talking about what they find interesting about the sun.","secondary_creator":"Ryan Fitzgibbons, Chris Smith","description":"Second short promo for Sun-Earth Day 2009 featuring more people talking about what they find interesting about the sun."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_2/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_2~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_2/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_2.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA14729/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Mercury Transit Across the Sun","keywords":["Sun","Solar Dynamics Observatory SDO"],"nasa_id":"PIA14729","date_created":"2016-05-09T22:23:00Z","media_type":"image","description_508":"On May 9, 2016, Mercury passed directly between the Sun and Earth, making a transit of the Sun. Mercury transits happen about 13 times each century. NASA SDO studies the Sun 24/7 and captured the eight-hour event.","secondary_creator":"NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory","description":"On May 9, 2016, Mercury passed directly between the Sun and Earth, making a transit of the Sun. Mercury transits happen about 13 times each century. NASA SDO studies the Sun 24/7 and captured the eight-hour event."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA14729/PIA14729~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA15179/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"The Sun Magnetic Field","nasa_id":"PIA15179","date_created":"2011-12-16T19:18:05Z","keywords":["Sun","Voyager"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"This frame from an animation shows how the magnetic field lines emanating from our sun spiral out into the solar system as the sun rotates. NASA Voyager 1 is in an area scientists are calling the stagnation region, at the outer layer of the heliosphere.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech","description":"This frame from an animation shows how the magnetic field lines emanating from our sun spiral out into the solar system as the sun rotates. NASA Voyager 1 is in an area scientists are calling the stagnation region, at the outer layer of the heliosphere."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA15179/PIA15179~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA17669/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Pulses from the Sun","nasa_id":"PIA17669","date_created":"2014-02-11T15:20:02Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar Dynamics Observatory SDO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"The dark region seen on the face of the sun at the end of March 2013 is a coronal hole just above and to the right of the middle of the picture, which is a source of fast solar wind leaving the sun in this image from NASA Solar Dynamic Observatory.","secondary_creator":"NASA/SDO/AIA","description":"The dark region seen on the face of the sun at the end of March 2013 is a coronal hole just above and to the right of the middle of the picture, which is a source of fast solar wind leaving the sun in this image from NASA Solar Dynamic Observatory."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA17669/PIA17669~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA25628/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","date_created":"2023-02-09T00:00:00Z","description":"This composite image of the Sun includes high-energy X-ray data from NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) shown in blue; lower energy X-ray data from the X-ray Telescope (XRT) on the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hinode mission shown in green; and ultraviolet light detected by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shown in red. NuSTAR's relatively small field of view means it can't see the entire Sun from its position in Earth orbit, so Figure A is a composite of 25 images, which were taken by the observatory in June 2022. NuSTAR sees high-energy X-rays that appear at only a few locations, where the hottest material is present in the Sun's atmopshere. By contrast, Hinode's XRT and SDO's AIA detect detect wavelengths emitted across the entire face of the Sun. The hotspots observed by NuSTAR might be caused by collections of nanoflares, or small outbursts of heat, light, and particles from the Sun's surface that subsequently heat the atmosphere. Individual nanoflares are too faint to directly observe amid the Sun's blazing light. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25628","description_508":"This composite image of the Sun includes high-energy X-ray data from NASA's NuSTAR shown in blue; lower energy X-ray data from the XRT on the JAXA's Hinode mission shown in green; and ultraviolet light detected by the AIA on NASA's SDO shown in red.","keywords":["NuSTAR","Sun"],"media_type":"image","nasa_id":"PIA25628","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/JAXA","title":"Three-Telescope View of the Sun"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA25628/PIA25628~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA25431/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","date_created":"2022-10-12T00:00:00Z","description":"This graphic shows the relative size of the Sun, upper left, compared to the two stars in the binary system known as Wolf-Rayet 140, or WR 140. The O-type star is roughly 30 times the mass of the Sun, while its companion is about 10 times the mass of the Sun. O-type stars are some of the biggest and brightest stars in the universe. They use up their fuel quickly and live relatively short lives – no more than about 10 million years, as opposed to stars like our Sun, which live for about 10 billion years. Wolf-Rayet stars were once O-type stars that are now nearing the end of their lives. They release huge amounts of mass into space via stellar winds, exposing their hot, inner layers. The Wolf-Rayet star in WR 140 may have shed more than half its original mass. It has an estimated temperature of 60,000 Kelvin (about 110,000 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 60,000 degrees Celsius) – more than 10 times the temperature of our Sun. The temperature of the O-type star is about 35,000 Kelvin (about 63,000 F, or about 35,000 C). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25431","description_508":"This graphic shows the relative size of the Sun, upper left, compared to the two stars in the system known as Wolf-Rayet 140. The O-type star is roughly 30 times the mass of the Sun, while its companion is about 10 times the mass of the Sun.","keywords":["Sun","WR 140"],"media_type":"image","nasa_id":"PIA25431","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech","title":"Comparing Sizes: the Sun and WR 140"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA25431/PIA25431~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA19821/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"NuSTAR Stares at the Sun","nasa_id":"PIA19821","date_created":"2015-07-08T16:50:28Z","keywords":["Sun","NuSTAR","solar flares"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"Flaring, active regions of our sun are highlighted in this image combining observations from NASA's NuSTAR. During the observations, microflares went off, which are smaller versions of the larger flares that also erupt from the sun surface.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/JAXA","description":"Flaring, active regions of our sun are highlighted in this image combining observations from several telescopes. High-energy X-rays from NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) are shown in blue; low-energy X-rays from Japan's Hinode spacecraft are green; and extreme ultraviolet light from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is yellow and red. All three telescopes captured their solar images around the same time on April 29, 2015. The NuSTAR image is a mosaic made from combining smaller images. The active regions across the sun's surface contain material heated to several millions of degrees. The blue-white areas showing the NuSTAR data pinpoint the most energetic spots. During the observations, microflares went off, which are smaller versions of the larger flares that also erupt from the sun's surface. The microflares rapidly release energy and heat the material in the active regions. NuSTAR typically stares deeper into the cosmos to observe X-rays from supernovas, black holes and other extreme objects. But it can also look safely at the sun and capture images of its high-energy X-rays with more sensitivity than before. Scientists plan to continue to study the sun with NuSTAR to learn more about microflares, as well as hypothesized nanoflares, which are even smaller. In this image, the NuSTAR data shows X-rays with energies between 2 and 6 kiloelectron volts; the Hinode data, which is from the X-ray Telescope instrument, has energies of 0.2 to 2.4 kiloelectron volts; and the Solar Dynamics Observatory data, taken using the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly instrument, shows extreme ultraviolet light with wavelengths of 171 and 193 Angstroms. Note the green Hinode image frame edge does not extend as far as the SDO ultraviolet image, resulting in the green portion of the image being truncated on the right and left sides. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19821"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA19821/PIA19821~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_2010306_M12882_Name_to_Sun/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Parker Solar Probe"],"description":"NASA’s historic Parker Solar Probe mission will launch in summer 2018 to travel through the Sun’s atmosphere, closer to the solar surface than any spacecraft before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions — and you can send your name along for the ride. To commemorate humanity’s first visit to the star we live with, NASA invites the public to submit their names to be included on a microchip headed to the Sun aboard NASA’s Parker Solar Probe.","title":"Send Your Name to the Sun with Parker Solar Probe","photographer":"JPL","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_2010306_M12882_Name_to_Sun","media_type":"video","keywords":["Parker Solar Probe","Promo","Sun","Solar","Corona","William Shatner","12882","Send Your Name to the Sun"],"date_created":"2018-03-06T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Send Your Name to the Sun Promo","secondary_creator":"Rich Melnick","center":"GSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_2010306_M12882_Name_to_Sun/GSFC_2010306_M12882_Name_to_Sun~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_2010306_M12882_Name_to_Sun/GSFC_2010306_M12882_Name_to_Sun.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09771/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Filtering the Sun","nasa_id":"PIA09771","date_created":"2007-11-14T13:50:07Z","keywords":["S Rings","Cassini-Huygens"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"Filtering the Sun","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute","description":"Filtering the Sun"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09771/PIA09771~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA04994/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Facing the Sun","nasa_id":"PIA04994","date_created":"2004-01-05T17:43:27Z","keywords":["Mars","Mars Exploration Rover MER"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"Facing the Sun","secondary_creator":"JPL/NASA/Cornell","description":"Facing the Sun"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA04994/PIA04994~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20121018_Gradient_m11112_Sun.en/collection.json","data":[{"album":["SDO"],"description":"Watching a particularly beautiful movie of the sun helps show how the lines between science and art can sometimes blur. But there is more to the connection between the two disciplines: science and art techniques are often quite similar, indeed one may inform the other or be improved based on lessons from the other arena. One such case is a technique known as a \"gradient filter\" — recognizable to many people as an option available on a photo-editing program. Gradients are, in fact, a mathematical description that highlights the places of greatest physical change in space. A gradient filter, in turn, enhances places of contrast, making them all the more obviously different, a useful tool when adjusting photos. Scientists, too, use gradient filters to enhance contrast, using them to accentuate fine structures that might otherwise be lost in the background noise. On the sun, for example, scientists wish to study a phenomenon known as coronal loops, which are giant arcs of solar material constrained to travel along that particular path by the magnetic fields in the sun's atmosphere. Observations of the loops, which can be more or less tangled and complex during different phases of the sun's 11-year activity cycle, can help researchers understand what's happening with the sun's complex magnetic fields, fields that can also power great eruptions on the sun such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections. The images here show an unfiltered image from the sun next to one that has been processed using a gradient filter. Note how the coronal loops are sharp and defined, making them all the more easy to study. On the other hand, gradients also make great art. Watch the movie to see how the sharp loops on the sun next to the more fuzzy areas in the lower solar atmosphere provide a dazzling show.","title":"Gradient Sun","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20121018_Gradient_m11112_Sun.en","media_type":"video","keywords":["Solar Wind","Sun","Sun-Earth Interactions","Solar Ultraviolet","Space Weather","SDO","Solar Dynamics Observatory","Heliophysics","Corona","Gradient"],"date_created":"2012-10-18T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Watching a particularly beautiful movie of the sun helps show how the lines between science and art can sometimes blur. But there is more to the connection between the two disciplines: science and art techniques are often quite similar, indeed one may inform the other or be improved based on lessons from the other arena. One such case is a technique known as a \"gradient filter\" — recognizable to many people as an option available on a photo-editing program. Gradients are, in fact, a mathematical description that highlights the places of greatest physical change in space. A gradient filter, in turn, enhances places of contrast, making them all the more obviously different, a useful tool when adjusting photos. Scientists, too, use gradient filters to enhance contrast, using them to accentuate fine structures that might otherwise be lost in the background noise. On the sun, for example, scientists wish to study a phenomenon known as coronal loops, which are giant arcs of solar material constrained to travel along that particular path by the magnetic fields in the sun's atmosphere. Observations of the loops, which can be more or less tangled and complex during different phases of the sun's 11-year activity cycle, can help researchers understand what's happening with the sun's complex magnetic fields, fields that can also power great eruptions on the sun such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections. The images here show an unfiltered image from the sun next to one that has been processed using a gradient filter. Note how the coronal loops are sharp and defined, making them all the more easy to study. On the other hand, gradients also make great art. Watch the movie to see how the sharp loops on the sun next to the more fuzzy areas in the lower solar atmosphere provide a dazzling show.","secondary_creator":"Genna Duberstein","center":"GSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20121018_Gradient_m11112_Sun.en/GSFC_20121018_Gradient_m11112_Sun.en~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20121018_Gradient_m11112_Sun.en/GSFC_20121018_Gradient_m11112_Sun.en.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_3/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun-Earth Day 2009 Promos: Galileo","photographer":"Ryan Fitzgibbons, Chris Smith","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_3","media_type":"video","keywords":["Sun","Sun-Earth Interactions","Earth","Galileo"],"date_created":"2009-03-18T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Third short promo for Sun-Earth Day 2009 featuring a modern Galileo pitching all of his greatest discoveries over the last 400 years.","secondary_creator":"Ryan Fitzgibbons, Chris Smith","description":"Third short promo for Sun-Earth Day 2009 featuring a modern Galileo pitching all of his greatest discoveries over the last 400 years."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_3/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_3~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_3/GSFC_20090318_SED_m10409_Promo_3.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180808_Parker_m13017_SolarProbe/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Parker Solar Probe"],"description":"The Sun contains 99.8 percent of the mass in our solar system. Its gravitational pull is what keeps everything here, from tiny Mercury to the gas giants to the Oort Cloud, 186 billion miles away. But even though the Sun has such a powerful pull, it's surprisingly hard to actually go to the Sun: It takes 55 times more energy to go to the Sun than it does to go to Mars. Why is it so difficult? The answer lies in the same fact that keeps Earth from plunging into the Sun: Our planet is traveling very fast — about 67,000 miles per hour — almost entirely sideways relative to the Sun. The only way to get to the Sun is to cancel that sideways motion. Since Parker Solar Probe will skim through the Sun's atmosphere, it only needs to drop 53,000 miles per hour of sideways motion to reach its destination, but that's no easy feat. In addition to using a powerful rocket, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will perform seven Venus gravity assists over its seven-year mission to shed sideways speed into Venus' well of orbital energy. These gravity assists will draw Parker Solar Probe's orbit closer to the Sun for a record approach of just 3.83 million miles from the Sun's visible surface on the final orbits. Though it's shedding sideways speed to get closer to the Sun, Parker Solar Probe will pick up overall speed, bolstered by Sun's extreme gravity — so it will also break the record for the fastest-ever human-made objects, clocking in at 430,000 miles per hour on its final orbits.","title":"It's Surprisingly Hard to Go to the Sun","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20180808_Parker_m13017_SolarProbe","media_type":"video","keywords":["Solar Probe Plus","Venus","Sun","Orbit"],"date_created":"2018-08-08T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Why does the Parker Solar Probe have such a long and complex orbit to get close to the Sun? Why doesn't it just fall right toward it? Turns out it's a lot harder to approach the Sun than you might think. This video explains why.","secondary_creator":"Scott Wiessinger","center":"GSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180808_Parker_m13017_SolarProbe/GSFC_20180808_Parker_m13017_SolarProbe~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180808_Parker_m13017_SolarProbe/GSFC_20180808_Parker_m13017_SolarProbe.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/NHQ_2018_0812_Parker Solar Probe Mission Launches to Touch the Sun -/collection.json","data":[{"center":"HQ","title":"Parker Solar Probe Mission Launches to Touch the Sun -","keywords":["Parker Solar Probe","Cape Canaveral Air Force Station","Sun","Corona","Launch"],"nasa_id":"NHQ_2018_0812_Parker Solar Probe Mission Launches to Touch the Sun -","date_created":"2018-08-12T00:00:00Z","media_type":"video","description":"NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission launched Aug. 12 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will be the first to fly directly through the Sun’s corona – the hazardous region of intense heat and solar radiation in the Sun’s atmosphere that is visible during an eclipse. It will gather data that could help answer questions about solar physics that have puzzled scientists for decades. Gathering information about fundamental processes near the Sun can help improve our understanding of how our solar system’s star changes the space environment, where space weather can affect astronauts, interfere with satellite orbits, or damage spacecraft electronics."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/NHQ_2018_0812_Parker Solar Probe Mission Launches to Touch the Sun -/NHQ_2018_0812_Parker Solar Probe Mission Launches to Touch the Sun -~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/NHQ_2018_0812_Parker Solar Probe Mission Launches to Touch the Sun -/NHQ_2018_0812_Parker Solar Probe Mission Launches to Touch the Sun -.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA21582/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Spotless Sun","keywords":["Sun","Solar Dynamics Observatory SDO","intensitygram","sunspots"],"nasa_id":"PIA21582","date_created":"2017-03-20T19:46:44Z","media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory sees the sun has been virtually spotless, as in no sunspots, a 11-day spotless stretch not seen since the last solar minimum many years ago.","secondary_creator":"Spotless_combo_best.tif","description":"NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory sees the sun has been virtually spotless, as in no sunspots, a 11-day spotless stretch not seen since the last solar minimum many years ago. Movies are available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21582"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA21582/PIA21582~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000763/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Outburst on the Sun","keywords":["Outburst on the Sun"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000763","date_created":"2015-03-11T16:22:43Z","media_type":"image","description":"The Sun blew out a coronal mass ejection along with part of a solar filament over a three-hour period (Feb. 24, 2015). While some of the strands fell back into the Sun, a substantial part raced into space in a bright cloud of particles (as observed by the SOHO spacecraft). The activity was captured in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Because this occurred way over near the edge of the Sun, it was unlikely to have any effect on Earth. Download high res/video file: sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/potw/item/603 Credit: NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000763/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000763~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA21461/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Earth Eclipses the Sun","keywords":["Sun","Solar Dynamics Observatory SDO","eclipse"],"nasa_id":"PIA21461","date_created":"2017-02-21T19:07:16Z","media_type":"image","description_508":"Several times a day for a few days the Earth completely blocked the Sun for about an hour due to NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory orbital path Feb. 15, 2017.","secondary_creator":"NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory","description":"Several times a day for a few days the Earth completely blocked the Sun for about an hour due to NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory's orbital path (Feb. 15, 2017). The edge of the Earth is not crisp, but kind of fuzzy due to Earth's atmosphere. This frame from a video shows the ending of one such eclipse over -- just seven minutes. The sun is shown in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. These eclipses re-occur about every six months. The Moon blocks SDO's view of the sun on occasion as well. Movies are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21461"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA21461/PIA21461~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20160901_STEREO_m12329_SolarWind/collection.json","data":[{"album":["STEREO"],"description":"For the first time, using NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, scientists have imaged the edge of the sun and described that transition – from which the solar wind blows. Defining the details of this boundary helps us learn more about our solar neighborhood, which is bathed throughout by solar material – a space environment that we must understand to safely explore beyond our planet. A paper on the findings was published in The Astrophysical Journal on Sept. 1, 2016.","title":"Snapshots from the Edge of the Sun","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20160901_STEREO_m12329_SolarWind","media_type":"video","keywords":["Solar Wind","Sun","Heliophysics","STEREO","Corona"],"date_created":"2016-09-01T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Narrated video about discovering the boundary between the corona - the sun's outermost layer - and solar wind - the continuous stream of particles emanating from the sun.","secondary_creator":"Genna Duberstein, Craig DeForest, Kathalina Tran, Lisa Poje, Adriana Manrique Gutierrez, Aaluk Edwardson","center":"GSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20160901_STEREO_m12329_SolarWind/GSFC_20160901_STEREO_m12329_SolarWind~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20160901_STEREO_m12329_SolarWind/GSFC_20160901_STEREO_m12329_SolarWind.vtt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA05554/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Martian Moon Eclipses Sun, in Stages","nasa_id":"PIA05554","date_created":"2004-03-13T02:04:44Z","keywords":["Sun","Mars Exploration Rover MER"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"This panel illustrates the transit of the martian moon Phobos across the Sun. It is made up of images taken by NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL/Cornell","description":"This panel illustrates the transit of the martian moon Phobos across the Sun. It is made up of images taken by NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA05554/PIA05554~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating_Short/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"The Sun’s Mysteriously Hot Atmosphere","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating_Short","media_type":"video","keywords":["Solar Wind","Sun","Space Weather","Heliophysics","Corona","Coronal Heating","Parker Solar Probe","Bengt Edlen"],"date_created":"2018-07-25T00:00:00Z","description_508":"An abridged version about the corona, the Sun's outer atmosphere.","secondary_creator":"Joy Ng, Kathalina Tran, Eric Christian, Nour Raouafi, James A. Klimchuk, Ryan Milligan, Sten Odenwald, Adrian Daw, Tom Bridgman, Walt Feimer, Michael Lentz","description":"Something mysterious is going on at the Sun. In defiance of all logic, its atmosphere gets much, much hotter the farther it stretches from the Sun’s blazing surface. Temperatures in the corona — the tenuous, outermost layer of the solar atmosphere — spike upwards of 2 million degrees Fahrenheit, while just 1,000 miles below, the underlying surface simmers at a balmy 10,000 F. How the Sun manages this feat remains one of the greatest unanswered questions in astrophysics; scientists call it the coronal heating problem. A new, landmark mission, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe — scheduled to launch no earlier than Aug. 11, 2018 — will fly through the corona itself, seeking clues to its behavior and offering the chance for scientists to solve this mystery. From Earth, as we see it in visible light, the Sun’s appearance — quiet, unchanging — belies the life and drama of our nearest star. Its turbulent surface is rocked by eruptions and intense bursts of radiation, which hurl solar material at incredible speeds to every corner of the solar system. This solar activity can trigger space weather events that have the potential to disrupt radio communications, harm satellites and astronauts, and at their most severe, interfere with power grids. Above the surface, the corona extends for millions of miles and roils with plasma, gases superheated so much that they separate into an electric flow of ions and free electrons. Eventually, it continues outward as the solar wind, a supersonic stream of plasma permeating the entire solar system. And so, it is that humans live well within the extended atmosphere of our Sun. To fully understand the corona and all its secrets is to understand not only the star that powers life on Earth, but also, the very space around us."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating_Short/GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating_Short~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating_Short/GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating_Short.vtt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001549/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"From the Sun with Love","keywords":["From the Sun with Love","sun","heart","space","nasa","valentinesday","goddard","sdo"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001549","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"This Solar Dynamics Observatory image of the Sun taken on February 1, 2013 in extreme ultraviolet light captures a heart-shaped dark coronal hole. Coronal holes are areas of the Sun's surface that are the source of open magnetic field lines that head way out into space. They are also the source regions of the fast solar wind, which is characterized by a relatively steady speed of approximately 800 km/s (about 1.8 million mph)."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001549/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001549~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002111/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"CME leaving the Sun [Video]","keywords":["CME leaving the Sun [Video]","sun","nasa","springequinox","sunearthday","nasasunearthday"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002111","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Animation of a CME leaving the Sun, slamming into our magnetosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/SOHO/ESA Sound: Juan Carlos Garcia To learn more go to the SOHO website: sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/home.html To learn more about NASA's Sun Earth Day go here: sunearthday.nasa.gov/2010/index.php"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002111/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002111~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001643/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Gradient Sun [still]","keywords":["Gradient Sun [still]"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001643","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"To view a video of the Gradient Sun go to: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/8103212817 Looking at a particularly beautiful image of the sun helps show how the lines between science and art can sometimes blur. But there is more to the connection between the two disciplines: science and art techniques are often quite similar, indeed one may inform the other or be improved based on lessons from the other arena. One such case is a technique known as a "gradient filter" – recognizable to many people as an option available on a photo-editing program. Gradients are, in fact, a mathematical description that highlights the places of greatest physical change in space. A gradient filter, in turn, enhances places of contrast, making them all the more obviously different, a useful tool when adjusting photos. Scientists, too, use gradient filters to enhance contrast, using them to accentuate fine structures that might otherwise be lost in the background noise. On the sun, for example, scientists wish to study a phenomenon known as coronal loops, which are giant arcs of solar material constrained to travel along that particular path by the magnetic fields in the sun's atmosphere. Observations of the loops, which can be more or less tangled and complex during different phases of the sun's 11-year activity cycle, can help researchers understand what's happening with the sun's complex magnetic fields, fields that can also power great eruptions on the sun such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections. The still here shows an unfiltered image from the sun next to one that has been processed using a gradient filter. Note how the coronal loops are sharp and defined, making them all the more easy to study. On the other hand, gradients also make great art. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center To download this video go to: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?11112 NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001643/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001643~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00450/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Solar System Portrait - View of the Sun, Earth and Venus","nasa_id":"PIA00450","date_created":"1996-09-13T10:01:39Z","keywords":["Sun","Voyager","Earth","Venus"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"This color image of the sun, Earth and Venus was taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft Feb. 14, 1990, when it was approximately 32 degrees above the plane of the ecliptic and at a slant-range distance of approximately 4 billion miles.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL","description":"This color image of the sun, Earth and Venus was taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft Feb. 14, 1990, when it was approximately 32 degrees above the plane of the ecliptic and at a slant-range distance of approximately 4 billion miles. It is the first -- and may be the only -- time that we will ever see our solar system from such a vantage point. The image is a portion of a wide-angle image containing the sun and the region of space where the Earth and Venus were at the time with two narrow-angle pictures centered on each planet. The wide-angle was taken with the camera's darkest filter (a methane absorption band), and the shortest possible exposure (5 thousandths of a second) to avoid saturating the camera's vidicon tube with scattered sunlight. The sun is not large in the sky as seen from Voyager's perspective at the edge of the solar system but is still eight million times brighter than the brightest star in Earth's sky, Sirius. The image of the sun you see is far larger than the actual dimension of the solar disk. The result of the brightness is a bright burned out image with multiple reflections from the optics in the camera. The \"rays\" around the sun are a diffraction pattern of the calibration lamp which is mounted in front of the wide angle lens. The two narrow-angle frames containing the images of the Earth and Venus have been digitally mosaiced into the wide-angle image at the appropriate scale. These images were taken through three color filters and recombined to produce a color image. The violet, green and blue filters were used; exposure times were, for the Earth image, 0.72, 0.48 and 0.72 seconds, and for the Venus frame, 0.36, 0.24 and 0.36, respectively. Although the planetary pictures were taken with the narrow-angle camera (1500 mm focal length) and were not pointed directly at the sun, they show the effects of the glare from the nearby sun, in the form of long linear streaks resulting from the scattering of sunlight off parts of the camera and its sun shade. From Voyager's great distance both Earth and Venus are mere points of light, less than the size of a picture element even in the narrow-angle camera. Earth was a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size. Coincidentally, Earth lies right in the center of one of the scattered light rays resulting from taking the image so close to the sun. Detailed analysis also suggests that Voyager detected the moon as well, but it is too faint to be seen without special processing. Venus was only 0.11 pixel in diameter. The faint colored structure in both planetary frames results from sunlight scattered in the optics. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00450"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00450/PIA00450~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000393/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Picturing the Sun’s Magnetic Field","keywords":["Picturing the Sun’s Magnetic Field"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000393","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"This illustration lays a depiction of the sun's magnetic fields over an image captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory on March 12, 2016. The complex overlay of lines can teach scientists about the ways the sun's magnetism changes in response to the constant movement on and inside the sun. Note how the magnetic fields are densest near the bright spots visible on the sun – which are magnetically strong active regions – and many of the field lines link one active region to another. This magnetic map was created using the PFSS – Potential Field Source Surface – model, a model of the magnetic field in the sun’s atmosphere based on magnetic measurements of the solar surface. The underlying image was taken in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths of 171 angstroms. This type of light is invisible to our eyes, but is colorized here in gold. Credits: NASA/SDO/AIA/LMSAL NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram "}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000393/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000393~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/NHQ_2018_0309_Send Your Name to the Sun on This Week @NASA – March 9, 2018/collection.json","data":[{"center":"HQ","title":"Send Your Name to the Sun on This Week @NASA – March 9, 2018","keywords":["This Week at NASA","TW@N","Sun","Orion"],"nasa_id":"NHQ_2018_0309_Send Your Name to the Sun on This Week @NASA – March 9, 2018","date_created":"2018-03-09T00:00:00Z","media_type":"video","description":"A chance to send your name to the Sun, testing systems for our Orion spacecraft, and sizing up Earth, from space – a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/NHQ_2018_0309_Send Your Name to the Sun on This Week @NASA – March 9, 2018/NHQ_2018_0309_Send Your Name to the Sun on This Week @NASA – March 9, 2018~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/NHQ_2018_0309_Send Your Name to the Sun on This Week @NASA – March 9, 2018/NHQ_2018_0309_Send Your Name to the Sun on This Week @NASA – March 9, 2018.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001435/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun Emits a Solstice CME","keywords":["Sun Emits a Solstice CME","sun","nasa","solstice","cme"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001435","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Caption: This image from June 20, 2013, at 11:15 p.m. EDT shows the bright light of a solar flare on the left side of the sun and an eruption of solar material shooting through the sun’s atmosphere, called a prominence eruption. Shortly thereafter, this same region of the sun sent a coronal mass ejection out into space. --- On June 20, 2013, at 11:24 p.m., the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME, a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later. These particles cannot travel through the atmosphere to harm humans on Earth, but they can affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground. Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and ESA/NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory show that the CME left the sun at speeds of around 1350 miles per second, which is a fast speed for CMEs. Earth-directed CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they funnel energy into Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. The CME’s magnetic fields peel back the outermost layers of Earth's fields changing their very shape. Magnetic storms can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected electrical surges in power grids. They also can cause aurora. Storms are rare during solar minimum, but as the sun’s activity ramps up every 11 years toward solar maximum – currently expected in late 2013 -- large storms occur several times per year. In the past, geomagnetic storms caused by CMEs of this strength and direction have usually been mild. Read more: 1.usa.gov/14OxuEe Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001435/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001435~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001434/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun Emits a Solstice CME","keywords":["Sun Emits a Solstice CME","sun","nasa","solstice","cme"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001434","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Caption: This image from June 20, 2013, at 11:15 p.m. EDT shows the bright light of a solar flare on the left side of the sun and an eruption of solar material shooting through the sun’s atmosphere, called a prominence eruption. Shortly thereafter, this same region of the sun sent a coronal mass ejection out into space. --- On June 20, 2013, at 11:24 p.m., the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME, a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later. These particles cannot travel through the atmosphere to harm humans on Earth, but they can affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground. Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and ESA/NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory show that the CME left the sun at speeds of around 1350 miles per second, which is a fast speed for CMEs. Earth-directed CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they funnel energy into Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. The CME’s magnetic fields peel back the outermost layers of Earth's fields changing their very shape. Magnetic storms can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected electrical surges in power grids. They also can cause aurora. Storms are rare during solar minimum, but as the sun’s activity ramps up every 11 years toward solar maximum – currently expected in late 2013 -- large storms occur several times per year. In the past, geomagnetic storms caused by CMEs of this strength and direction have usually been mild. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001434/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001434~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002115/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"NASA Sun Earth","keywords":["NASA Sun Earth","sun","nasa","springequinox","sunearthday","nasasunearthday"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002115","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"CME blast and subsequent impact at Earth -- This illustration shows a CME blasting off the Sun’s surface in the direction of Ea CME blast and subsequent impact at Earth -- This illustration shows a CME blasting off the Sun’s surface in the direction of Earth. This left portion is composed of an EIT 304 image superimposed on a LASCO C2 coronagraph. Two to four days later, the CME cloud is shown striking and beginning to be mostly deflected around the Earth’s magnetosphere. The blue paths emanating from the Earth’s poles represent some of its magnetic field lines. The magnetic cloud of plasma can extend to 30 million miles wide by the time it reaches earth. These storms, which occur frequently, can disrupt communications and navigational equipment, damage satellites, and even cause blackouts. (Objects in the illustration are not drawn to scale.) Credit: NASA/GSFC/SOHO/ESA To learn more go to the SOHO website: sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/home.html To learn more about NASA's Sun Earth Day go here: sunearthday.nasa.gov/2010/index.php"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002115/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002115~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA12395/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"The Sun Sets on Rembrandt","nasa_id":"PIA12395","date_created":"2009-12-08T23:17:58Z","keywords":["Mercury","MESSENGER"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"The Sun Sets on Rembrandt","secondary_creator":"NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington","description":"The Sun Sets on Rembrandt"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA12395/PIA12395~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA06574/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Sun-striped Saturn","nasa_id":"PIA06574","date_created":"2005-01-31T13:50:00Z","keywords":["Saturn","Cassini-Huygens"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"Sun-striped Saturn","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute","description":"Sun-striped Saturn"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA06574/PIA06574~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA07639/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Herschel Sees the Sun","nasa_id":"PIA07639","date_created":"2005-11-25T13:50:08Z","keywords":["Mimas","Cassini-Huygens"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"Herschel Sees the Sun","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute","description":"Herschel Sees the Sun"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA07639/PIA07639~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA11512/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Sun-bleached Rhea","nasa_id":"PIA11512","date_created":"2009-06-11T12:48:30Z","keywords":["Rhea","Cassini-Huygens"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"Sun-bleached Rhea","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute","description":"Sun-bleached Rhea"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA11512/PIA11512~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA19014/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"The Sun Also Rises","nasa_id":"PIA19014","date_created":"2015-01-12T18:04:20Z","keywords":["Mercury","MESSENGER"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"The Sun Also Rises","secondary_creator":"NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington","description":"The Sun Also Rises"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA19014/PIA19014~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA10976/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Midnight Sun on Mars","keywords":["Mars","Phoenix"],"nasa_id":"PIA10976","date_created":"2008-07-23T22:39:17Z","media_type":"image","description_508":"Midnight Sun on Mars","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University","description":"Midnight Sun on Mars"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA10976/PIA10976~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA07517/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Sun-Drenched Rhea","nasa_id":"PIA07517","date_created":"2005-06-07T13:50:00Z","keywords":["Rhea","Cassini-Huygens"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"Sun-Drenched Rhea","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute","description":"Sun-Drenched Rhea"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA07517/PIA07517~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001936/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Epic Filament Eruption from the Sun","keywords":["Epic Filament Eruption from the Sun","sun","nasa","eruption","filament"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001936","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"NASA image captured December 6, 2010 To view a video of this event go here: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/5258354738 A very long solar filament that had been snaking around the Sun erupted (Dec. 6, 2010) with a flourish. STEREO (Behind) caught the action in dramatic detail in extreme ultraviolet light of Helium. It had been almost a million km long (about half a solar radius) and a prominent feature on the Sun visible over two weeks earlier before it rotated out of view. Filaments, elongated clouds of cooler gases suspended above the Sun by magnetic forces, are rather unstable and often break away from the Sun. Credit: NASA/GSFC/SOHO NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001936/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001936~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000718/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun Says \"Keep Right\"","keywords":["Sun Says \"Keep Right\""],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000718","date_created":"2015-05-28T19:48:35Z","media_type":"image","description":"A pair of giant filaments on the face of the sun have formed what appears to be an enormous arrow. If straightened out, each filament would be about as long as the sun’s diameter, 1 million miles long. Filaments are cooler clouds of solar material suspended above the sun's surface by powerful magnetic forces. Filaments can float for days without much change, though they can also erupt, releasing solar material in a shower that either rains back down or escapes out into space, becoming a moving cloud known as a coronal mass ejection, or CME. This image was captured on May 28, 2015, in combined wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which observes the sun 24 hours a day. Credit: NASA/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000718/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000718~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001406/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Comet Plunge and CME on the Sun","keywords":["Comet Plunge and CME on the Sun","sun","space","soho","nasa","comet","goddard","cme"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001406","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"A small comet was streaking towards the Sun when the Sun blew out a "halo" coronal mass ejection (CME) Aug. 19-20, 2013). The CME originated from the far side of the Sun and did not have any interaction with the comet. The comet, only perhaps 30 meters across, was not seen after it went out of view, likely disintegrated by the heat and radiation from the Sun. We call this a "full halo" CME since the front edge of the CME is expanding in all directions around the Sun like a halo. The images were taken by SOHO's coronagraphs in which a disk (red) blocks the Sun and some of the area around it so we can see faint structures beyond that. Here we superimposed the Sun from NASA's SDO. The movie covers about five hours of activity and can be seen here: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/9601034896/ Credit: NASA/Goddard/SOHO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001406/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001406~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/NHQ_2020_0106_AskNASA/collection.json","data":[{"center":"HQ","title":"#AskNASA┃Is the Sun a ball of fire?","nasa_id":"NHQ_2020_0106_AskNASA","media_type":"video","keywords":["Nicky Fox","Sun","Heliophysics","Parker Solar Probe","Fox","Parker"],"date_created":"2020-01-06T00:00:00Z","description":"Is the Sun a ball of fire? And why does NASA send missions to the Sun? NASA’s Heliophysics Director Nicky Fox explains NASA’s latest solar science findings. The Parker Solar Probe mission is revolutionizing our understanding of the Sun, where changing conditions can propagate out into the solar system, affecting Earth and other worlds. It will travel through the Sun’s atmosphere, closer to the surface than any spacecraft before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions — and ultimately providing humanity with the closest-ever observations of a star."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/NHQ_2020_0106_AskNASA/NHQ_2020_0106_AskNASA~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/NHQ_2020_0106_AskNASA/NHQ_2020_0106_AskNASA.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001305/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Comet ISON Approaching the Sun [still]","keywords":["Comet ISON Approaching the Sun [still]"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001305","date_created":"2013-11-27T15:10:53Z","media_type":"image","description":"This movie from NASA’s STEREO spacecraft's Heliospheric Imager shows Comet ISON, Mercury, Comet Encke and Earth over a five-day period from Nov. 20 to Nov. 25, 2013. The sun sits right of the field of view of this camera. Comet ISON, which will round the sun on Nov. 28, is what's known as a sungrazing comet, due to its close approach. Foreshortening or the angle at which these images were obtained make Earth appear as if it is closer to the sun than Mercury. If you look closely you will also see a dimmer and smaller comet Encke near comet ISON. A comet’s journey through the solar system is perilous and violent. A giant ejection of solar material from the sun could rip its tail off. Before it reaches Mars -- at some 230 million miles away from the sun -- the radiation of the sun begins to boil its water, the first step toward breaking apart. And, if it survives all this, the intense radiation and pressure as it flies near the surface of the sun could destroy it altogether. Even if the comet does not survive, tracking its journey will help scientists understand what the comet is made of, how it reacts to its environment, and what this explains about the origins of the solar system. Closer to the sun, watching how the comet and its tail interact with the vast solar atmosphere can teach scientists more about the sun itself. Image Credit: NASA/STEREO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001305/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001305~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001314/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Comet ISON Streaks Toward the Sun","keywords":["Comet ISON Streaks Toward the Sun"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001314","date_created":"2013-11-22T20:04:17Z","media_type":"image","description":"Date: 19 Nov 2013 Comet ISON shows off its tail in this three-minute exposure taken on 19 Nov. 2013 at 6:10 a.m. EST, using a 14-inch telescope located at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The comet is just nine days away from its close encounter with the sun; hopefully it will survive to put on a nice show during the first week of December. The star images are trailed because the telescope is tracking on the comet, which is now exhibiting obvious motion with respect to the background stars over a period of minutes. At the time of this image, Comet ISON was some 44 million miles from the sun -- and 80 million miles from Earth -- moving at a speed of 136,700 miles per hour. Credit: NASA/MSFC/Aaron Kingery -------- More details on Comet ISON: Comet ISON began its trip from the Oort cloud region of our solar system and is now travelling toward the sun. The comet will reach its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- 28 Nov 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun's surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet. Catalogued as C/2012 S1, Comet ISON was first spotted 585 million miles away in September 2012. This is ISON's very first trip around the sun, which means it is still made of pristine matter from the earliest days of the solar system’s formation, its top layers never having been lost by a trip near the sun. Comet ISON is, like all comets, a dirty snowball made up of dust and frozen gases like water, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide -- some of the fundamental building blocks that scientists believe led to the formation of the planets 4.5 billion years ago. NASA has been using a vast fleet of spacecraft, instruments, and space- and Earth-based telescope, in order to learn more about this time capsule from when the solar system first formed. The journey along the way for such a sun-grazing comet can be dangerous. A giant ejection of solar material from the sun could rip its tail off. Before it reaches Mars -- at some 230 million miles away from the sun -- the radiation of the sun begins to boil its water, the first step toward breaking apart. And, if it survives all this, the intense radiation and pressure as it flies near the surface of the sun could destroy it altogether. This collection of images show ISON throughout that journey, as scientists watched to see whether the comet would break up or remain intact. The comet reaches its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- Nov. 28, 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun’s surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet. ISON stands for International Scientific Optical Network, a group of observatories in ten countries who have organized to detect, monitor, and track objects in space. ISON is managed by the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/39501"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001314/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001314~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09320/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Full Disk Image of the Sun, March 26, 2007","nasa_id":"PIA09320","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:00Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO satellites have provided the first three-dimensional images of the Sun. The structure of the corona shows well in this image. ","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO satellites have provided the first three-dimensional images of the Sun. The structure of the corona shows well in this image. "}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09320/PIA09320~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001551/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"From the Sun with Love","keywords":["From the Sun with Love","sun","heart","space","nasa","valentinesday","goddard","sdo"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001551","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"This Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) image of the Sun taken on January 20, 2012 in extreme ultraviolet light captures a heart-shaped dark coronal hole. Coronal holes are areas of the Sun's surface that are the source of open magnetic field lines that head way out into space. They are also the source regions of the fast solar wind, which is characterized by a relatively steady speed of approximately 800 km/s (about 1.8 million mph). NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001551/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001551~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001550/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"From the Sun with Love","keywords":["From the Sun with Love","sun","heart","space","nasa","valentinesday","goddard","sdo"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001550","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"This Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) image of the Sun taken on January 20, 2012 in extreme ultraviolet light captures a heart-shaped dark coronal hole. Coronal holes are areas of the Sun's surface that are the source of open magnetic field lines that head way out into space. They are also the source regions of the fast solar wind, which is characterized by a relatively steady speed of approximately 800 km/s (about 1.8 million mph). NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001550/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001550~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001024/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Comet Jacques Approaches the Sun","keywords":["Comet Jacques Approaches the Sun"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001024","date_created":"2014-07-24T12:56:52Z","media_type":"image","description":"NASA's Solar TErrestrial Relations Observatory, STEREO has observed the recently discovered Comet Jacques as it passed by its nearest approach to the Sun (July 1-6, 2014). The wide field instrument on board STEREO (Ahead) showed the comet with its elongated tail being stretched and pummeled by the gusty solar wind streaming from the Sun. Also visible near the center of the image is the bright planet Venus. The Sun is just out of the field of view to the right. Comet Jacques is traveling through space at about 180,000 km per hour (110,000 mph). It may brighten enough to be seen with the naked eye. High res still here: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/14710024276/ Download original file: sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/pickoftheweek/old/11jul2014/ Credit: NASA/Goddard/STEREO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001024/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001024~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA13737/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Phobos Passes in Front of Sun Face, Nov. 9, 2010","keywords":["Sun","Mars Exploration Rover MER"],"nasa_id":"PIA13737","date_created":"2010-12-27T23:07:02Z","media_type":"image","description_508":"The larger of the two moons of Mars, Phobos, passes in front of the Sun face in this image from NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. A movie is available at the Photojournal.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Texas A&M","description":"The larger of the two moons of Mars, Phobos, passes in front of the Sun face in this image from NASA Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. A movie is available at the Photojournal."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA13737/PIA13737~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09328/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"North Pole of the Sun, March 20, 2007","nasa_id":"PIA09328","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:08Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. ","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. "}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09328/PIA09328~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09330/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"South Pole of the Sun, March 20, 2007","nasa_id":"PIA09330","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:10Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. . ","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. . "}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09330/PIA09330~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09331/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"South Pole of the Sun, March 20, 2007 Anaglyph","nasa_id":"PIA09331","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:11Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09331/PIA09331~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09329/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"North Pole of the Sun, March 20, 2007 Anaglyph","nasa_id":"PIA09329","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:09Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09329/PIA09329~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001517/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"The Sun: One Year in One Image","keywords":["The Sun: One Year in One Image","sun","nasa","sdo"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001517","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Image released: April 22, 2013 In the three years since it first provided images of the sun in the spring of 2010, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has had virtually unbroken coverage of the sun's rise toward solar maximum, the peak of solar activity in its regular 11-year cycle. This image is a composite of 25 separate images spanning the period of April 16, 2012, to April 15, 2013. It uses the SDO AIA wavelength of 171 angstroms and reveals the zones on the sun where active regions are most common during this part of the solar cycle. Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO Learn more about this image. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001517/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001517~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000128/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Earth Eclipses the Sun","keywords":["Earth Eclipses the Sun"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000128","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Twice a year, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, has an eclipse season — a weeks-long period in which Earth blocks SDO’s view of the sun for part of each day. This footage captured by SDO on Feb. 15, 2017, shows one such eclipse. Earth’s edge appears fuzzy, rather than crisp, because the sun’s light is able to shine through Earth’s atmosphere in some places. These images were captured in wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light, which is typically invisible to our eyes, but is colorized here in gold. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram "}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000128/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000128~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000762/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun Emits an X2.2 Flare","keywords":["Sun Emits an X2.2 Flare"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000762","date_created":"2015-03-11T18:28:14Z","media_type":"image","description":"The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 12:22 p.m. EDT on March 11, 2015. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This flare is classified as an X2.2-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000762/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000762~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20110207_STEREO_m10720_Stonehenge/collection.json","data":[{"album":["SDO, SOHO, STEREO"],"description":"Humans have always wanted to learn about the Sun, but our understanding of our favorite star has changed through the centuries. In preparation for Sun360, when the STEREO spacecrafts will provide the first uninterrupted view of the Sun, this video is a condensed history of how we have studied the Sun over time.","title":"From Stonehenge to STEREO: A One Minute History of How We See the Sun","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20110207_STEREO_m10720_Stonehenge","media_type":"video","keywords":["SOHO","Spacecraft","Spectrum","Sun","Solar Flares","SDO","Solar Dynamics Observatory","Heliophysics","Hinode","STEREO","Yohkoh","Stonehenge"],"date_created":"2011-02-07T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Humans have always wanted to learn about the Sun, but our understanding of our favorite star has changed through the centuries. In prepartion for Sun360, when the STEREO spacecrafts will provide the first uninterrupted view of the Sun, this video is a condensed history of how we have studied the Sun over time.","secondary_creator":"Genna Duberstein, Tom Bridgman, Walt Feimer, Scott Wiessinger","center":"GSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20110207_STEREO_m10720_Stonehenge/GSFC_20110207_STEREO_m10720_Stonehenge~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20110207_STEREO_m10720_Stonehenge/GSFC_20110207_STEREO_m10720_Stonehenge.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09322/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Close-up View of an Active Region of the Sun, March 23, 2007","nasa_id":"PIA09322","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:02Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO satellites have provided the first three-dimensional images of the Sun. The structure of the corona shows well in this image. ","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO satellites have provided the first three-dimensional images of the Sun. The structure of the corona shows well in this image. "}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09322/PIA09322~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20131217_ArgoSun_m11385/collection.json","data":[{"album":["SDO"],"description":"Telescopes help distant objects appear bigger, but this is only one of their advantages. Telescopes can also collect light in ranges that our eyes alone cannot see, providing scientists ways of observing a whole host of material and processes that would otherwise be inaccessible. A new NASA movie of the sun based on data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, shows the wide range of wavelengths – invisible to the naked eye – that the telescope can view. SDO converts the wavelengths into an image humans can see, and the light is colorized into a rainbow of colors. As the colors sweep around the sun in the movie, viewers should note how different the same area of the sun appears. This happens because each wavelength of light represents solar material at specific temperatures. Different wavelengths convey information about different components of the sun's surface and atmosphere, so scientists use them to paint a full picture of our constantly changing and varying star. Yellow light of 5800 angstroms, for example, generally emanates from material of about 10,000 degrees F (5700 degrees C), which represents the surface of the sun. Extreme ultraviolet light of 94 angstroms, which is typically colorized in green in SDO images, comes from atoms that are about 11 million degrees F (6,300,000 degrees C) and is a good wavelength for looking at solar flares, which can reach such high temperatures. By examining pictures of the sun in a variety of wavelengths – as is done not only by SDO, but also by NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and the European Space Agency/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory — scientists can track how particles and heat move through the sun's atmosphere.","title":"Jewel Box Sun","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20131217_ArgoSun_m11385","media_type":"video","keywords":["Coronal Loop","Solar Wind","Sun","Sun-Earth Interactions","Solar Active Regions","Solar Flares","Solar Ultraviolet","Space Weather","SDO","Solar Dynamics Observatory","Heliophysics","Corona","Coronal Mass Ejections"],"date_created":"2013-12-17T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Telescopes help distant objects appear bigger, but this is only one of their advantages. Telescopes can also collect light in ranges that our eyes alone cannot see, providing scientists ways of observing a whole host of material and processes that would otherwise be inaccessible.","secondary_creator":"Genna Duberstein, Tom Bridgman, William D. Pesnell, C.Alex Young, Barbara Thompson","center":"GSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20131217_ArgoSun_m11385/GSFC_20131217_ArgoSun_m11385~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20131217_ArgoSun_m11385/GSFC_20131217_ArgoSun_m11385.vtt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20141222_SDO_m11721_Lights/collection.json","data":[{"album":["SDO"],"description":"The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 7:24 p.m. EST on Dec. 19, 2014. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. To see how this event may affect Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings. This flare is classified as an X1.8-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.","title":"Holiday Lights on the Sun","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20141222_SDO_m11721_Lights","media_type":"video","keywords":["Solar Wind","Sun","Solar Flares","Solar Ultraviolet","Space Weather","SDO","Solar Dynamics Observatory","Heliophysics","Corona","Coronal Mass Ejections"],"date_created":"2014-12-22T00:00:00Z","description_508":"The sun emitted an X1.8-class solar flare, peaking at 7:24 p.m. EST on Dec. 19, 2014.","secondary_creator":"Genna Duberstein","center":"GSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20141222_SDO_m11721_Lights/GSFC_20141222_SDO_m11721_Lights~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20141222_SDO_m11721_Lights/GSFC_20141222_SDO_m11721_Lights.vtt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180328_Parker_m12899_Name/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Parker Solar Probe"],"description":"Submit your name and it will be included in a memory card that will fly aboard Parker Solar Probe spacecraft. Come with us as we plunge through the Sun's atmosphere, closer to the surface than any spacecraft before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions—and ultimately providing humanity with the first-ever close-up view of a star. Submissions will be accepted through April 27, 2018.","title":"Send Your Name to the Sun","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20180328_Parker_m12899_Name","media_type":"video","keywords":["Sun","Solar Probe Plus","Parker Solar Probe"],"date_created":"2018-03-28T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Submit your name and it will be included in a memory card that will fly aboard Parker Solar Probe spacecraft.","secondary_creator":"Genna Duberstein","center":"GSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180328_Parker_m12899_Name/GSFC_20180328_Parker_m12899_Name~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180328_Parker_m12899_Name/GSFC_20180328_Parker_m12899_Name.vtt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001556/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Solar Scientist Confirm Existence of Flux Ropes on the Sun","keywords":["Solar Scientist Confirm Existence of Flux Ropes on the Sun","sun","nasa","cme","sdo","fluxrope"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001556","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Caption: This is an image of magnetic loops on the sun, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). It has been processed to highlight the edges of each loop to make the structure more clear. A series of loops such as this is known as a flux rope, and these lie at the heart of eruptions on the sun known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs.) This is the first time scientists were able to discern the timing of a flux rope's formation. (SDO AIA 131 and 171 difference blended image of flux ropes during CME.) Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO ---- On July 18, 2012, a fairly small explosion of light burst off the lower right limb of the sun. Such flares often come with an associated eruption of solar material, known as a coronal mass ejection or CME – but this one did not. Something interesting did happen, however. Magnetic field lines in this area of the sun's atmosphere, the corona, began to twist and kink, generating the hottest solar material – a charged gas called plasma – to trace out the newly-formed slinky shape. The plasma glowed brightly in extreme ultraviolet images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) aboard NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and scientists were able to watch for the first time the very formation of something they had long theorized was at the heart of many eruptive events on the sun: a flux rope. Eight hours later, on July 19, the same region flared again. This time the flux rope's connection to the sun was severed, and the magnetic fields escaped into space, dragging billions of tons of solar material along for the ride -- a classic CME. "Seeing this structure was amazing," says Angelos Vourlidas, a solar scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. "It looks exactly like the cartoon sketches theorists have been drawing of flux ropes since the 1970s. It was a series of figure eights lined up to look like a giant slinky on the sun." To read more about this new discovery go to: 1.usa.gov/14UHsTt "}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001556/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001556~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Discovering the Sun’s Mysteriously Hot Atmosphere","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating","media_type":"video","keywords":["Solar Wind","Sun","Space Weather","Heliophysics","Corona","Coronal Heating","Parker Solar Probe","History","Bengt Edlen"],"date_created":"2018-07-25T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Something mysterious is going on at the Sun. In defiance of all logic, its atmosphere gets much, much hotter the farther it stretches from the Sun’s blazing surface. Temperatures in the corona — the Sun’s outer atmosphere — spike to 3 million degrees Fahrenheit, while just 1,000 miles below, the underlying surface simmers at a balmy 10,000 F. How the Sun manages this feat is a mystery that dates back nearly 150 years, and remains one of the greatest unanswered questions in astrophysics. Scientists call it the coronal heating problem. Watch the video to learn how astronomers first discovered evidence for this mystery during an eclipse in the 1800s, and what scientists today think could explain it.","secondary_creator":"Joy Ng, Kathalina Tran, Eric Christian, Nour Raouafi, James A. Klimchuk, Ryan Milligan, Sten Odenwald, Adrian Daw, Tom Bridgman, Walt Feimer, Michael Lentz, Kathalina Tran,","description":"Something mysterious is going on at the Sun. In defiance of all logic, its atmosphere gets much, much hotter the farther it stretches from the Sun’s blazing surface. Temperatures in the corona — the tenuous, outermost layer of the solar atmosphere — spike upwards of 2 million degrees Fahrenheit, while just 1,000 miles below, the underlying surface simmers at a balmy 10,000 F. How the Sun manages this feat remains one of the greatest unanswered questions in astrophysics; scientists call it the coronal heating problem. A new, landmark mission, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe — scheduled to launch no earlier than Aug. 11, 2018 — will fly through the corona itself, seeking clues to its behavior and offering the chance for scientists to solve this mystery. From Earth, as we see it in visible light, the Sun’s appearance — quiet, unchanging — belies the life and drama of our nearest star. Its turbulent surface is rocked by eruptions and intense bursts of radiation, which hurl solar material at incredible speeds to every corner of the solar system. This solar activity can trigger space weather events that have the potential to disrupt radio communications, harm satellites and astronauts, and at their most severe, interfere with power grids. Above the surface, the corona extends for millions of miles and roils with plasma, gases superheated so much that they separate into an electric flow of ions and free electrons. Eventually, it continues outward as the solar wind, a supersonic stream of plasma permeating the entire solar system. And so, it is that humans live well within the extended atmosphere of our Sun. To fully understand the corona and all its secrets is to understand not only the star that powers life on Earth, but also, the very space around us."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating/GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating/GSFC_20180725_Parker_m12903_CoronalHeating.vtt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001505/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare","keywords":["Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare","sun","nasa","flare","sdo"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001505","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Caption: A burst of solar material leaps off the left side of the sun in what’s known as a prominence eruption. This image combines three images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured on May 3, 2013, at 1:45 pm EDT, just as an M-class solar flare from the same region was subsiding. The images include light from the 131, 171 and 304 Angstrom wavelengths. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO --- The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 1:32 pm EDT on May 3, 2013. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This disrupts the radio signals for as long as the flare is ongoing, and the radio blackout for this flare has already subsided. This flare is classified as an M5.7 class flare. M-class flares are the weakest flares that can still cause some space weather effects near Earth. Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, since the sun's normal 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar maximum, which is expected in late 2013. Updates will be provided as they are available on the flare and whether there was an associated coronal mass ejection (CME), another solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and affect electronic systems in satellites and on Earth. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001505/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001505~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001504/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare","keywords":["Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare","sun","nasa","flare","sdo"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001504","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Caption: A burst of solar material leaps off the left side of the sun in what’s known as a prominence eruption. This image combines three images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured on May 3, 2013, at 1:45 pm EDT, just as an M-class solar flare from the same region was subsiding. The images include light from the 131, 171 and 304 Angstrom wavelengths. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO --- The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 1:32 pm EDT on May 3, 2013. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This disrupts the radio signals for as long as the flare is ongoing, and the radio blackout for this flare has already subsided. This flare is classified as an M5.7 class flare. M-class flares are the weakest flares that can still cause some space weather effects near Earth. Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, since the sun's normal 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar maximum, which is expected in late 2013. Updates will be provided as they are available on the flare and whether there was an associated coronal mass ejection (CME), another solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and affect electronic systems in satellites and on Earth. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001504/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001504~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001304/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Comet ISON Approaching the Sun [hd video]","keywords":["Comet ISON Approaching the Sun [hd video]"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001304","date_created":"2013-11-27T18:41:58Z","media_type":"image","description":"This movie from NASA’s STEREO spacecraft's Heliospheric Imager shows Comet ISON, Mercury, Comet Encke and Earth over a five-day period from Nov. 20 to Nov. 25, 2013. The sun sits right of the field of view of this camera. Comet ISON, which will round the sun on Nov. 28, is what's known as a sungrazing comet, due to its close approach. Foreshortening or the angle at which these images were obtained make Earth appear as if it is closer to the sun than Mercury. If you look closely you will also see a dimmer and smaller comet Encke near comet ISON. A comet’s journey through the solar system is perilous and violent. A giant ejection of solar material from the sun could rip its tail off. Before it reaches Mars -- at some 230 million miles away from the sun -- the radiation of the sun begins to boil its water, the first step toward breaking apart. And, if it survives all this, the intense radiation and pressure as it flies near the surface of the sun could destroy it altogether. Even if the comet does not survive, tracking its journey will help scientists understand what the comet is made of, how it reacts to its environment, and what this explains about the origins of the solar system. Closer to the sun, watching how the comet and its tail interact with the vast solar atmosphere can teach scientists more about the sun itself. Image Credit: NASA/STEREO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001304/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001304~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001555/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Solar Scientist Confirm Existence of Flux Ropes on the Sun","keywords":["Solar Scientist Confirm Existence of Flux Ropes on the Sun"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001555","date_created":"2013-02-14T17:12:13Z","media_type":"image","description":"Caption: This is an image of magnetic loops on the sun, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). It has been processed to highlight the edges of each loop to make the structure more clear. A series of loops such as this is known as a flux rope, and these lie at the heart of eruptions on the sun known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs.) This is the first time scientists were able to discern the timing of a flux rope's formation. (SDO AIA 131 and 171 difference blended image of flux ropes during CME.) Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO ---- On July 18, 2012, a fairly small explosion of light burst off the lower right limb of the sun. Such flares often come with an associated eruption of solar material, known as a coronal mass ejection or CME – but this one did not. Something interesting did happen, however. Magnetic field lines in this area of the sun's atmosphere, the corona, began to twist and kink, generating the hottest solar material – a charged gas called plasma – to trace out the newly-formed slinky shape. The plasma glowed brightly in extreme ultraviolet images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) aboard NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and scientists were able to watch for the first time the very formation of something they had long theorized was at the heart of many eruptive events on the sun: a flux rope. Eight hours later, on July 19, the same region flared again. This time the flux rope's connection to the sun was severed, and the magnetic fields escaped into space, dragging billions of tons of solar material along for the ride -- a classic CME. "Seeing this structure was amazing," says Angelos Vourlidas, a solar scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. "It looks exactly like the cartoon sketches theorists have been drawing of flux ropes since the 1970s. It was a series of figure eights lined up to look like a giant slinky on the sun." To read more about this new discovery go to: 1.usa.gov/14UHsTt "}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001555/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001555~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001025/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Comet Jacques Approaches the Sun [video]","keywords":["Comet Jacques Approaches the Sun [video]"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001025","date_created":"2014-07-24T12:56:52Z","media_type":"image","description":"NASA's Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory, STEREO has observed the recently discovered Comet Jacques as it passed by its nearest approach to the Sun (July 1-6, 2014). The wide field instrument on board STEREO (Ahead) showed the comet with its elongated tail being stretched and pummeled by the gusty solar wind streaming from the Sun. Also visible near the center of the image is the bright planet Venus. The Sun is just out of the field of view to the right. Comet Jacques is traveling through space at about 180,000 km per hour (110,000 mph). It may brighten enough to be seen with the naked eye. Video of this event here: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/14730658164/ Download original file: sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/pickoftheweek/old/11jul2014/ Credit: NASA/Goddard/STEREO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001025/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001025~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001297/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Comet ISON Swoops Around the Sun","keywords":["Comet ISON Swoops Around the Sun"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001297","date_created":"2013-12-02T16:59:07Z","media_type":"image","description":"Comet ISON swoops around the sun and through Scorpius. This composite merges an SDO AIA 171 sun image (Nov. 28, 2214 UT), SOHO C2 (2036 UT) and C3 (2030 UT) images, and a DSS view of the sky in northern Scorpius. Credit: NASA/ESA/SOHO, NASA/SDO, DSS, and Francis Reddy NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001297/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001297~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002035/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Full disk view of the sun June 21, 2010","keywords":["Full disk view of the sun June 21, 2010","summer","sun","solar","nasa","goddardspaceflightcenter","satelliteviewofthesun","summersolstice2010"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002035","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Full disk view of the sun from SDO, telescope AIA 335 on June 2, 2010. To learn more about SDO go to: sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002035/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002035~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/279_FollowTheSun/collection.json","data":[{"album":["NASA ScienceCasts"],"center":"HQ","title":"NASA ScienceCasts: Follow the Sun","keywords":["NASA","ScienceCasts","ISS","International Space Station","TSIS","Sun","Earth","Solar Energy","heliophysics","Earth Science"],"nasa_id":"279_FollowTheSun","date_created":"2018-08-16T00:00:00Z","media_type":"video","description":"The TSIS instrument on the International Space Station is continuing NASA's 40-year record of tracking the Sun's radiant energy."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/279_FollowTheSun/279_FollowTheSun~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/279_FollowTheSun/279_FollowTheSun.srt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002106/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Sputtering, Surging Sun [HD Video]","keywords":["Sputtering, Surging Sun [HD Video]","sun","nasa","springequinox","sunearthday","nasasunearthday"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002106","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"STEREO (Ahead) caught the action as one edge of a single active region spurted out more than a dozen surges of plasma in less than two days (Feb. 15-16, 2010). As seen in extreme UV light, the surges were narrow and directional outbursts driven by intense magnetic activity in the active region. While these kinds of outbursts have been observed numerous times, it was the frequency of so many surges in a short span of time that caught our attention. In this wavelength of UV light we are seeing singly ionized Helium at about 60,000 degrees C. For more information: stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Credit: NASA/GSFC/STEREO To learn more about NASA's Sun Earth Day go here: sunearthday.nasa.gov/2010/index.php"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002106/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002106~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00386/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Example of Weathering And Sun Angle","nasa_id":"PIA00386","date_created":"1996-12-12T03:03:12Z","keywords":["Mars","Viking"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"Example of Weathering And Sun Angle","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL","description":"The letter 'B' or perhaps the figure '8' appears to have been etched into the Mars rock at the left edge of this picture taken yesterday by NASA's Viking 1 Lander. It is believed to be an illusion caused by weathering processes and the angle of the sun as it illuminated the scene for the spacecraft camera. The object at lower left is the housing containing the surface sampler scoop. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00386"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00386/PIA00386~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA22197/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"The Sun Forms a Question","keywords":["Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)","Sun","coronal hole"],"nasa_id":"PIA22197","date_created":"2017-12-29T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory observed an elongated coronal hole (the darker area near the center) seeming to shape itself into a single, recognizable question mark over the period of one day (Dec. 21-22, 2017).","secondary_creator":"NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory","description":"Oddly enough, an elongated coronal hole (the darker area near the center) seems to shape itself into a single, recognizable question mark over the period of one day (Dec. 21-22, 2017). Coronal holes are areas of open magnetic field that appear darker in extreme ultraviolet light, as is seen here. These holes are the source of streaming plasma that we call solar wind. While this exercise is akin to seeing shapes in clouds, it is fun to consider what the sun might be asking? Perhaps what the new year will bring? Guess what I am going to do next? Movies are available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22197"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA22197/PIA22197~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001510/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Gigantic Rolling Wave Captured on the Sun","keywords":["Gigantic Rolling Wave Captured on the Sun","sun","nasa","cme","sdo"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001510","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"A coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted from just around the edge of the sun on May 1, 2013, in a gigantic rolling wave. CMEs can shoot over a billion tons of particles into space at over a million miles per hour. This CME occurred on the sun’s limb and is not headed toward Earth. The video (seen here: bit.ly/103whUl), taken in extreme ultraviolet light by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), covers about two and a half hours. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001510/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001510~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09324/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Closer View of the Equatorial Region of the Sun, March 24, 2007","nasa_id":"PIA09324","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:04Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. ","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. "}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09324/PIA09324~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09326/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Right Limb of the South Pole of the Sun, March 18, 2007","nasa_id":"PIA09326","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:06Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. ","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. "}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09326/PIA09326~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09323/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Close-up View of an Active Region of the Sun, March 23, 2007 Anaglyph","nasa_id":"PIA09323","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:03Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09323/PIA09323~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09332/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Left Limb of North Pole of the Sun, March 20, 2007","nasa_id":"PIA09332","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:12Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. ","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. "}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09332/PIA09332~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09325/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Closer View of the Equatorial Region of the Sun, March 24, 2007 Anaglyph","nasa_id":"PIA09325","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:05Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09325/PIA09325~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09321/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Full Disk Image of the Sun, March 26, 2007 Anaglyph","nasa_id":"PIA09321","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:01Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO satellites have provided the first three-dimensional images of the Sun. The structure of the corona shows well in this image. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO satellites have provided the first three-dimensional images of the Sun. The structure of the corona shows well in this image. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09321/PIA09321~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09327/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Right Limb of the South Pole of the Sun, March 18, 2007 Anaglyph","nasa_id":"PIA09327","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:07Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09327/PIA09327~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09333/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Left Limb of North Pole of the Sun, March 20, 2007 Anaglyph","nasa_id":"PIA09333","date_created":"2007-04-27T14:50:13Z","keywords":["Sun","Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory STEREO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL-Caltech/NRL/GSFC","description":"NASA Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory satellites have provided the first 3-dimensional images of the Sun. This view will aid scientists ability to understand solar physics to improve space weather forecasting. 3D glasses are necessary."}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA09333/PIA09333~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001554/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Solar Scientist Confirm Existence of Flux Ropes on the Sun","keywords":["Solar Scientist Confirm Existence of Flux Ropes on the Sun","sun","solar","earth","nasa","goddard","cme","fluxropes"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001554","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Caption: This is an image of magnetic loops on the sun, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on July 18, 2012. It has been processed to highlight the edges of each loop to make the structure more clear. A series of loops such as this is known as a flux rope, and these lie at the heart of eruptions on the sun known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs.) This is the first time scientists were able to discern the timing of a flux rope's formation. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO ---- On July 18, 2012, a fairly small explosion of light burst off the lower right limb of the sun. Such flares often come with an associated eruption of solar material, known as a coronal mass ejection or CME – but this one did not. Something interesting did happen, however. Magnetic field lines in this area of the sun's atmosphere, the corona, began to twist and kink, generating the hottest solar material – a charged gas called plasma – to trace out the newly-formed slinky shape. The plasma glowed brightly in extreme ultraviolet images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) aboard NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and scientists were able to watch for the first time the very formation of something they had long theorized was at the heart of many eruptive events on the sun: a flux rope. Eight hours later, on July 19, the same region flared again. This time the flux rope's connection to the sun was severed, and the magnetic fields escaped into space, dragging billions of tons of solar material along for the ride -- a classic CME. "Seeing this structure was amazing," says Angelos Vourlidas, a solar scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. "It looks exactly like the cartoon sketches theorists have been drawing of flux ropes since the 1970s. It was a series of figure eights lined up to look like a giant slinky on the sun." To read more about this new discovery go to: 1.usa.gov/14UHsTt NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001554/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001554~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20170330_Rossby_m12550_Waves/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Rossby Waves"],"description":"To predict weather on a planet, we look at Rossby waves, large movement patterns in the atmosphere, like the jet stream. Just as on Earth, the conditions on the sun are constantly changing. This is why scientists were excited to discover Rossby waves on the sun. On the sun, the waves are driven by magnetic currents below the surface. Monitoring these waves and the disturbances they generate could help us make better long-term space weather predictions. Solar Rossby wave imagery of courtsey of Scott W. McIntosh, NCAR/HAO","title":"Rossby Waves on the Sun Could Aid in Space Weather Prediction","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20170330_Rossby_m12550_Waves","media_type":"video","keywords":["Space Weather","Sun","Rossby/Planetary Waves"],"date_created":"2017-03-30T00:00:00Z","description_508":"To predict weather on a planet, we look at Rossby waves, large movement patterns in the atmosphere, like the jet stream.","secondary_creator":"Genna Duberstein, Mara Johnson-Groh, Scott W. McIntosh","center":"GSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20170330_Rossby_m12550_Waves/GSFC_20170330_Rossby_m12550_Waves~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20170330_Rossby_m12550_Waves/GSFC_20170330_Rossby_m12550_Waves.vtt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001363/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Filament Eruption Creates 'Canyon of Fire' on the Sun","keywords":["Filament Eruption Creates 'Canyon of Fire' on the Sun"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001363","date_created":"2013-10-24T17:27:46Z","media_type":"image","description":"A magnetic filament of solar material erupted on the sun in late September, breaking the quiet conditions in a spectacular fashion. The 200,000 mile long filament ripped through the sun's atmosphere, the corona, leaving behind what looks like a canyon of fire. The glowing canyon traces the channel where magnetic fields held the filament aloft before the explosion. Visualizers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. combined two days of satellite data to create a short movie of this gigantic event on the sun: bit.ly/166CncU In reality, the sun is not made of fire, but of something called plasma: particles so hot that their electrons have boiled off, creating a charged gas that is interwoven with magnetic fields. These images were captured on Sept. 29-30, 2013, by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, which constantly observes the sun in a variety of wavelengths. Read more/download video: 1.usa.gov/1dnrsjF Credit: NASA/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001363/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001363~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001831/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"SDO Spots Extra Energy in the Sun's Corona","keywords":["SDO Spots Extra Energy in the Sun's Corona","sun","space","nasa","sdo","goddardspaceflightcenter"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001831","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"NASA release July 27, 2011 These jets, known as spicules, were captured in an SDO image on April 25, 2010. Combined with the energy from ripples in the magnetic field, they may contain enough energy to power the solar wind that streams from the sun toward Earth at 1.5 million miles per hour. Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA Like giant strands of seaweed some 32,000 miles high, material shooting up from the sun sways back and forth with the atmosphere. In the ocean, it's moving water that pulls the seaweed along for a ride; in the sun's corona, magnetic field ripples called Alfvén waves cause the swaying. For years these waves were too difficult to detect directly, but NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is now able to track the movements of this solar "seaweed" and measure how much energy is carried by the Alfvén waves. The research shows that the waves carry more energy than previously thought, and possibly enough to drive two solar phenomena whose causes remain points of debate: the intense heating of the corona to some 20 times hotter than the sun's surface and solar winds that blast up to 1.5 million miles per hour. "SDO has amazing resolution so you can actually see individual waves," says Scott McIntosh at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. "Now we can see that instead of these waves having about 1000th the energy needed as we previously thought, it has the equivalent of about 1100W light bulb for every 11 square feet of the sun's surface, which is enough to heat the sun's atmosphere and drive the solar wind." To read more go to: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sdo/news/alfven-waves.html NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001831/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001831~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000808/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Magnetic Field Lines on the Sun","keywords":["Magnetic Field Lines on the Sun"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000808","date_created":"2015-01-28T20:17:16Z","media_type":"image","description":"Scientists have developed a way to produce models of where the magnetic field lines are several times each day. Here we have created a time-lapse version of these models over four days (2-3 each day) to give you a peek at how these change over time. The spiraling arcs of magnetic field lines emerge from active regions and connect back to areas with the opposite polarity. The field lines are more concentrated where regions are more magnetically intense. And of course, they rotate with the rotation of the Sun. Credit: NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000808/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000808~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001506/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare","keywords":["Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare","sun","nasa","flare","sdo"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001506","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Caption: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of an M5.7 class flare on May 3, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. This image shows light in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, a wavelength of light that can show material at the very hot temperatures of a solar flare and that is typically colorized in teal. Caption: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of an M5.7 class flare on May 3, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. This image shows light in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, a wavelength of light that can show material at the very hot temperatures of a solar flare and that is typically colorized in teal. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO --- The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 1:32 pm EDT on May 3, 2013. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This disrupts the radio signals for as long as the flare is ongoing, and the radio blackout for this flare has already subsided. This flare is classified as an M5.7 class flare. M-class flares are the weakest flares that can still cause some space weather effects near Earth. Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, since the sun's normal 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar maximum, which is expected in late 2013. Updates will be provided as they are available on the flare and whether there was an associated coronal mass ejection (CME), another solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and affect electronic systems in satellites and on Earth. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001506/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001506~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001507/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare","keywords":["Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare","sun","nasa","flare","sdo"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001507","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Caption: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of an M5.7 class flare on May 3, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. This image shows light in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, a wavelength of light that can show material at the very hot temperatures of a solar flare and that is typically colorized in teal. Caption: NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of an M5.7 class flare on May 3, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. This image shows light in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, a wavelength of light that can show material at the very hot temperatures of a solar flare and that is typically colorized in teal. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO --- The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 1:32 pm EDT on May 3, 2013. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This disrupts the radio signals for as long as the flare is ongoing, and the radio blackout for this flare has already subsided. This flare is classified as an M5.7 class flare. M-class flares are the weakest flares that can still cause some space weather effects near Earth. Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, since the sun's normal 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar maximum, which is expected in late 2013. Updates will be provided as they are available on the flare and whether there was an associated coronal mass ejection (CME), another solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and affect electronic systems in satellites and on Earth. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001507/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001507~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000705/collection.json","data":[{"center":"GSFC","title":"Sun Unleashes Mid-level Flare","keywords":["Sun Unleashes Mid-level Flare"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000705","date_created":"2015-06-22T20:30:07Z","media_type":"image","description":"The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 2:23 EDT on June 22, 2015. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. To see how this event may affect Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings. This flare is classified as a M6.6 flare. M-class flares are a tenth the size of the most intense flares, the X-class flares. The number provides more information about its strength. An M2 is twice as intense as an M1, an M3 is three times as intense, etc. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000705/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000705~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA21569/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Spotless Sun","keywords":["Solar Dynamics Observatory SDO","sunspots"],"nasa_id":"PIA21569","date_created":"2017-03-22T18:14:15Z","media_type":"image","description_508":"The sun has been virtually spotless, as in no sunspots, over the past 11 days, a spotless stretch that we have not seen since the last solar minimum many years ago. From NASA's SDO Mar. 14-17, 2017.","secondary_creator":"NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory","description":"The sun has been virtually spotless, as in no sunspots, over the past 11 days, a spotless stretch that we have not seen since the last solar minimum many years ago. The videos shows the past four days (Mar. 14-17, 2017) with a combination of an extreme ultraviolet image blended with just the filtered sun. If we just showed the filtered sun with no spots for reference points, any viewer would have a hard time telling that the sun was even rotating. The sun is trending again towards the solar minimum period of its 11 year cycle, which is predicted to be around 2020. Movies are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21569"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA21569/PIA21569~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20121023_SDO_m11120_Flare/collection.json","data":[{"album":["SDO"],"description":"The sun emitted a significant solar flare on Oct. 22, 2012, peaking at 11:17 p.m. EDT. The flare came from an active region on the left side of the sun that has been numbered AR 1598, which has already been the source of a number of weaker flares. This flare was classified as an X.1-class flare. \"X-class\" denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, and on. An X-class flare of this intensity can cause degradation or blackouts of radio communications for about an hour. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This can disrupt radio signals for anywhere from minutes to hours. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, which is the United States government's official source for space weather forecasts and alerts, categorized the radio blackout associated with this flare as an R3, on a scale from R1 to R5. It has since subsided. Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, since the sun's normal 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar maximum, which is expected in 2013. Humans have tracked this solar cycle continuously since it was discovered in 1843, and it is normal for there to be many flares a day during the sun's peak activity. The first X-class flare of the current solar cycle occurred on Feb. 15, 2011 and there have been 15 X-class flares total in this cycle, including this one. The largest X-class flare in this cycle was an X6.9 on Aug. 9, 2011. This is the 7th X-class flare in 2012 with the largest being an X5.4 flare on March 7. This flare did not have an associated Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME), another solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and affect electronic systems in satellites and on Earth.","title":"Active Region on the Sun Emits Another Flare","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20121023_SDO_m11120_Flare","media_type":"video","keywords":["Sun","Sun-Earth Interactions","Solar Flares","Solar Ultraviolet","Space Weather","SDO","Solar Dynamics Observatory","Heliophysics","Corona"],"date_created":"2012-10-23T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Video of a solar flare on Oct. 22, 2012 as captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in the 131 and 304 angstrom wavelengths. The 131 wavelength of light is used for observing solar material heated to 10 million degrees Kelvin, as in a solar flare. The wavelength is typically colorized in teal, as it is here.","secondary_creator":"Genna Duberstein, Scott Wiessinger, Karen Fox","center":"GSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20121023_SDO_m11120_Flare/GSFC_20121023_SDO_m11120_Flare~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20121023_SDO_m11120_Flare/GSFC_20121023_SDO_m11120_Flare.vtt","rel":"captions"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001916/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Hotspots in Fountains on the Sun's Surface Help Explain Coronal Heating Mystery","keywords":["Hotspots in Fountains on the Sun's Surface Help Explain Coronal Heating Mystery","sun","nasa","sdo","spicules","goddardspaceflightcenter"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001916","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"NASA image release January 6, 2010 Caption: Spicules on the sun, as observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. These bursts of gas jet off the surface of the sun at 150,000 miles per hour and contain gas that reaches temperatures over a million degrees. GREENBELT, Md. -- Observations from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Japanese satellite Hinode show that some gas in the giant, fountain-like jets in the sun's atmosphere known as spicules can reach temperatures of millions of degrees. The finding offers a possible new framework for how the sun's high atmosphere gets so much hotter than the surface of the sun. What makes the high atmosphere, or corona, so hot – over a million degrees, compared to the sun surface's 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit -- remains a poorly understood aspect of the sun's complicated space weather system. That weather system can reach Earth, causing auroral lights and, if strong enough, disrupting Earth's communications and power systems. Understanding such phenomena, therefore, is an important step towards better protecting our satellites and power grids. "The traditional view is that all the heating happens higher up in the corona," says Dean Pesnell, who is SDO's project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "The suggestion in this paper is that cool gas is being ejected from the sun's surface in spicules and getting heated on its way to the corona." Spicules were first named in the 1940s, but were hard to study in detail until recently, says Bart De Pontieu of Lockheed Martin's Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Palo Alto, Calif. who is the lead author on a paper on this subject in the January 7, 2011 issue of Science magazine. In visible light, spicules can be seen to send large masses of so-called plasma – the electromagnetic gas that surrounds the sun – up through the lower solar atmosphere or photosphere. The amount of material sent up is stunning, some 100 times as much as streams away from the sun in the solar wind towards the edges of the solar system. But nobody knew if they contained hot gas. "Heating of spicules to the necessary hot temperatures has never been observed, so their role in coronal heating had been dismissed as unlikely," says De Pontieu. Now, De Pontieu's team -- which included researchers at Lockheed Martin, the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado and the University of Oslo, Norway -- was able to combine images from SDO and Hinode to produce a more complete picture of the gas inside these gigantic fountains. The scientists found that a large fraction of the gas is heated to a hundred thousand degrees, while a small fraction is heated to millions of degrees. Time-lapsed images show that this material spews up into the corona, with most falling back down towards the surface of the sun. However, the small fraction of the gas that is heated to millions of degrees does not immediately return to the surface. Given the large number of spicules on the Sun, and the amount of material in the spicules, the scientists believe that if even some of that super hot plasma stays aloft it would make a contribution to coronal heating. Astrophysicist Jonathan Cirtain, who is the U.S. project scientist for Hinode at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., says that incorporating such new information helps address an important question that reaches far beyond the sun. "This breakthrough in our understanding of the mechanisms which transfer energy from the solar photosphere to the corona addresses one of the most compelling questions in stellar astrophysics: How is the atmosphere of a star heated?" he says. "This is a fantastic discovery, and demonstrates the muscle of the NASA Heliophysics System Observatory, comprised of numerous instruments on multiple observatories." Hinode is the second mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program, the goal of which is to improve understanding of fundamental solar and space physics processes. The mission is led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The collaborative mission includes the U.S., the United Kingdom, Norway and Europe. NASA Marshall manages Hinode U.S. science operations and oversaw development of the scientific instrumentation provided for the mission by NASA, academia and industry. The Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center is the lead U.S. investigator for the Solar Optical Telescope on Hinode. SDO is the first mission in a NASA science program called Living With a Star, the goal of which is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the sun-Earth system that directly affect our lives and society. NASA Goddard built, operates, and manages the SDO spacecraft for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. To learn more go to: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sdo/news/news20110106-spicules... Credit: NASA Goddard/SDO/AIA NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001916/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001916~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00451/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Solar System Portrait - 60 Frame Mosaic","nasa_id":"PIA00451","date_created":"1996-09-13T14:20:44Z","keywords":["Sun","Voyager"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"The cameras of Voyager 1 on Feb. 14, 1990, pointed back toward the sun and took a series of pictures of the sun and the planets, making the first ever portrait of our solar system as seen from the outside.","secondary_creator":"NASA/JPL","description":"The cameras of Voyager 1 on Feb. 14, 1990, pointed back toward the sun and took a series of pictures of the sun and the planets, making the first ever portrait of our solar system as seen from the outside. In the course of taking this mosaic consisting of a total of 60 frames, Voyager 1 made several images of the inner solar system from a distance of approximately 4 billion miles and about 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane. Thirty-nine wide angle frames link together six of the planets of our solar system in this mosaic. Outermost Neptune is 30 times further from the sun than Earth. Our sun is seen as the bright object in the center of the circle of frames. The wide-angle image of the sun was taken with the camera's darkest filter (a methane absorption band) and the shortest possible exposure (5 thousandths of a second) to avoid saturating the camera's vidicon tube with scattered sunlight. The sun is not large as seen from Voyager, only about one-fortieth of the diameter as seen from Earth, but is still almost 8 million times brighter than the brightest star in Earth's sky, Sirius. The result of this great brightness is an image with multiple reflections from the optics in the camera. Wide-angle images surrounding the sun also show many artifacts attributable to scattered light in the optics. These were taken through the clear filter with one second exposures. The insets show the planets magnified many times. Narrow-angle images of Earth, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were acquired as the spacecraft built the wide-angle mosaic. Jupiter is larger than a narrow-angle pixel and is clearly resolved, as is Saturn with its rings. Uranus and Neptune appear larger than they really are because of image smear due to spacecraft motion during the long (15 second) exposures. From Voyager's great distance Earth and Venus are mere points of light, less than the size of a picture element even in the narrow-angle camera. Earth was a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size. Coincidentally, Earth lies right in the center of one of the scattered light rays resulting from taking the image so close to the sun. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00451"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00451/PIA00451~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000991/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"A Significant Flare Surges Off the Sun","keywords":["A Significant Flare Surges Off the Sun","sun","nasa","flare","nasagoddard"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000991","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 1:48 p.m. EDT on Sept. 10, 2014. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground. However -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. To see how this event may affect Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings. This flare is classified as an X1.6 class flare. "X-class" denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000991/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000991~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA13247/collection.json","data":[{"center":"JPL","title":"Apollo 16, Footsteps Under High Sun","nasa_id":"PIA13247","date_created":"2010-07-08T20:57:52Z","keywords":["Moon","Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter LRO"],"media_type":"image","description_508":"Apollo 16, Footsteps Under High Sun","secondary_creator":"NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University","description":"Apollo 16, Footsteps Under High Sun"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA13247/PIA13247~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001662/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Test"],"center":"GSFC","title":"Magnificent CME Erupts on the Sun - August 31","keywords":["Magnificent CME Erupts on the Sun - August 31","sun","nasa","goddard","cme","sdo"],"location":"Greenbelt, MD","nasa_id":"GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001662","date_created":"2017-12-08T00:00:00Z","media_type":"image","description":"Solar Flare Extremely energetic objects permeate the universe. But close to home, the sun produces its own dazzling lightshow, producing the largest explosions in our solar system and driving powerful solar storms.. When solar activity contorts and realigns the sun’s magnetic fields, vast amounts of energy can be driven into space. This phenomenon can create a sudden flash of light—a solar flare. Flares typically last a few minutes and unleash energies equivalent to millions of hydrogen bombs. The above picture features a filament eruption on the sun, accompanied by solar flares. To learn more about solar flares, go to NASA’s SDO mission: www.nasa.gov/sdo --------------------------------- Original caption: Click here to view an image showing the size of this CME compared to the size of Earth: bit.ly/RkYr7z On August 31, 2012 a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupted out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3. Pictured here is a lighten blended version of the 304 and 171 angstrom wavelengths. Cropped Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001662/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e001662~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"}]},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180720_Parker_m12911_trailer.en_US/collection.json","data":[{"album":["Parker Solar Probe"],"description":"Parker Solar Probe is NASA's mission to the Sun. The spacecraft will launch summer 2018.","title":"Parker Solar Probe Trailer","location":"Goddard Space Flight Center","nasa_id":"GSFC_20180720_Parker_m12911_trailer.en_US","media_type":"video","keywords":["Sun","Parker Solar Probe"],"date_created":"2018-07-20T00:00:00Z","description_508":"Parker Solar Probe is NASA's mission to the Sun. The spacecraft will launch summer 2018.","secondary_creator":"Genna Duberstein, Steve Gribben","center":"GSFC"}],"links":[{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180720_Parker_m12911_trailer.en_US/GSFC_20180720_Parker_m12911_trailer.en_US~thumb.jpg","rel":"preview","render":"image"},{"href":"https://images-assets.nasa.gov/video/GSFC_20180720_Parker_m12911_trailer.en_US/GSFC_20180720_Parker_m12911_trailer.en_US.vtt","rel":"captions"}]}],"metadata":{"total_hits":6449},"links":[{"rel":"next","prompt":"Next","href":"http://images-api.nasa.gov/search?q=Sun&page=2"}]}}