--- title: Spacecraft Provides NASA With Photos That Teach Us About The Sun description: See the pictures canonical: https://time.com/3514147/spacecraft-provides-nasa-with-data-that-teaches-us-about-the-sun/ author: TIME Photo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-16T22:52:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:07:22.487Z article:section: Science og:title: Spacecraft Provides NASA With Photos That Teach Us About The Sun og:description: See the pictures og:url: https://time.com/3514147/spacecraft-provides-nasa-with-data-that-teaches-us-about-the-sun/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee532e555d5a5dd4/6987612ee53abaaedd4d5140/nasa-space-sun-atmosphere.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: nasa-space-sun-atmosphere og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Spacecraft Provides NASA With Photos That Teach Us About The Sun twitter:description: See the pictures twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee532e555d5a5dd4/6987612ee53abaaedd4d5140/nasa-space-sun-atmosphere.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Spacecraft Provides NASA With Data That Teaches Us About The Sun > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Oct 16, 2014 10:52 PM UTC  NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory provided the outer image of a coronal mass ejection on the surface of the sun on May 9, 2014. 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 by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Oct 16, 2014 10:52 PM UTC 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](http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/october/nasa-spacecraft-provides-new-information-about-sun-s-atmosphere/#.VEA7WNTF%5F2C). 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.” ### PHOTOS: This Astronaut's Images of Earth Look Like Beautiful Abstract Paintings  "Harsh land. Windswept valleys in northern #Africa"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 6, 2014 Alexander 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, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA  "An open history book of our planet: the #Sahara Desert"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 26, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA  "An open history book of our planet: the # Sahara Desert"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 26, 2014 Alexander 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, 2014 Alexander 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, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA  "Probably a river in Kazakhstan or slightly west of it."—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 29, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA/SIPA USA  "An open history book of our planet: the #Sahara Desert"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 26, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA  "Human-made fires in East Africa. Can you spot them?"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 9, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3514147/spacecraft-provides-nasa-with-data-that-teaches-us-about-the-sun/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3514147/spacecraft-provides-nasa-with-data-that-teaches-us-about-the-sun/"},"headline":"Spacecraft Provides NASA With Data That Teaches Us About The Sun","datePublished":"2014-10-16T22:52:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:22.487Z","description":"Hot off the presses","url":"https://time.com/3514147/spacecraft-provides-nasa-with-data-that-teaches-us-about-the-sun/","keywords":["Space"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee532e555d5a5dd4/6987612ee53abaaedd4d5140/nasa-space-sun-atmosphere.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee532e555d5a5dd4/6987612ee53abaaedd4d5140/nasa-space-sun-atmosphere.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"nasa-space-sun-atmosphere","caption":"NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory provided the outer image of a coronal mass ejection on the surface of the sun on May 9, 2014.","creditText":"Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory/NASA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3514147/spacecraft-provides-nasa-with-data-that-teaches-us-about-the-sun/","name":"Spacecraft Provides NASA With Data That Teaches Us About The Sun"}}]}] ```