SDO | Solar Dynamics Observatory

SDO's goal is to understand, driving towards a predictive capability, the solar variations that influence life on Earth and humanity's technological systems by determining

• how the Sun's magnetic field is generated and structured
• how this stored magnetic energy is converted and released into the heliosphere and geospace in the form of solar wind, energetic particles, and variations in the solar irradiance.

Three Rotations, Three Temperatures

Solar images in three different wavelengths in extreme ultraviolet light are combined together to show solar activity over almost three months (June 2 - Aug. 26, 2010). Each wavelength is shown in a different color. The wavelengths are at 211 (red - 2 million degrees), 193 (green - 1.3 million degrees), and 171 Angstroms (blue - 600,000 degrees). The cadence is basically a frame every 45 minutes. The brightest areas are active regions, which have stronger magnetic field than the surrounding area.

The Earth is superimposed on a solar eruptive prominence as seen in extreme UV light (March 30, 2010) to give a sense of how large these eruptions are.

On August 1, 2010 around 0855 UT, Earth orbiting satellites detected a C3-class solar flare. The origin of the blast was sunspot 1092. At about the same time, an enormous magnetic filament stretching across the sun's northern hemisphere erupted. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the action. 

SDO | Solar Dynamics Observatory