It is the fire of life. It can be kind but it can get angry. But
it never throws its weight around. It is the sun. And although
it is 330,000 more massive than earth and contains 99.8% of the
mass in our solar system, it is small in comparison with some
other stars. The sun never cease to amaze us with its theatrics,
its lava flares dancing across its surface in a ballet of
nuclear fusion, sometimes leaping millions of miles into the
air. And although the sun is big, its intense heat and light
makes it difficult to capture good images with normal
instruments. So NASA scientists use an Helioseismic and Magnetic
Imager and an Atmospheric Imaging Assembly detector to view the
ultra-violet (UV) and extreme ultra-violet lithography (EUV)
wavelengths released by the sun. The resulting images are
spectacular. Full disk image of the sun. Ain’t it beautiful?!
Full disk image of the sun as taken by NASA Solar Dynamics
Observatory, which orbits 22,300 miles above earth. Earth in
comparison to the sun Earth’s distance fr