Spacecraft Provides NASA With Data That Teaches Us About The Sun
Spacecraft Provides NASA With Data That Teaches Us About The Sun
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NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory provided the outer image of a coronal mass ejection on the surface of the sun on May 9, 2014.Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory/NASA
A detailed new image of the sun is providing NASA with information about the sun’s atmosphere.
The photos, taken by NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectograph (IRIS), help explain how the sun’s atmosphere is hotter than its surface, what causes solar wind, and what mechanisms accelerate particles that power solar flares, NASA said in a release.
Some of the more noteworthy findings identified heat pockets of 200,000 degrees Fahrenheit that exist in the solar atmosphere, which scientists refer to as “heat bombs.”
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"Harsh land. Windswept valleys in northern #Africa"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 6, 2014Alexander Gerst—ESA"Land use in South Africa, you can see where water is."—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 9, 2014.Alexander Gerst—ESA"Irrigation in the #Sahara #Desert looks like a challenging task from up here... #BlueDot"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 28, 2014Alexander Gerst—ESA"An open history book of our planet: the #Sahara Desert"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 26, 2014Alexander Gerst—ESA"An open history book of our planet: the # Sahara Desert"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 26, 2014Alexander Gerst—ESA/SIPA USA"Close-up of gigantic Salar of Uyuni in Bolivia. You can even see the salt fields and the 'Cactus Island'."—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 15, 2014.Alexander Gerst—ESA"The #Moon was still behind the horizon. A #FataMorgana of atmospherical refraction #BlueDot"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 14, 2014Alexander Gerst—ESA/SIPA USA"When I took this photo, I was sure these are clouds. But now I'm not so sure... #BlueDot"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 7, 2014Alexander Gerst—ESA"Probably a river in Kazakhstan or slightly west of it."—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 29, 2014Alexander Gerst—ESA/SIPA USA"An open history book of our planet: the #Sahara Desert"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 26, 2014Alexander Gerst—ESA"Human-made fires in East Africa. Can you spot them?"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 9, 2014Alexander Gerst—ESA
