You should probably go look at the sun this weekend.
While this would normally be a bad idea, thanks to a recently released time-lapse depicting the sun's solar cycle, you could do it safely from the comfort of your own home.
NASA launched the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in February 2010, a first-of-its-kind spacecraft with a single mission: to study the sun.
NASA has created a stunning time-lapse depicting the sun's solar cycle, an 11-year period bookended by the flipping of the star's
The Solar Cycle
The hour-long video begins at a point in the sun’s solar cycle called the “solar minimum.” This period is relatively calm, with just the occasional burst of bright light signalling some sort of solar activity, a sunspot or solar flare, for example.
The number and intensity of these bursts increases in the video until they peak near its midpoint — that’s when the cycle reaches the “solar maximum” — and then begin subsiding once again.
When the SDO launched, NASA didn’t expect the spacecraft to capture this entire solar cycle — it was only designed for a five-year mission.
But because it has remained functional for twice that, NASA scientists have been able to collect data on a full cycle — data they can use to predict the sun’s future magnetic activity, which could affect everything from the function of satellites to the health of astronauts.
A Decade of SDO Discoveries
During its decade in orbit, the data collected from SDO has yielded many discoveries — and at least one of which may eventually help us power life on Earth.
In 2019, the SDO led to a discovery of a brand-new type of magnetic explosion that scientists had first theorized existed a decade prior.
That discovery could help researchers figure out how to better control plasma in a lab setting, which could help with the development of nuclear fusion technology.
And the SDO isn’t done yet — it still has its sights fixed firmly on the sun, meaning it could yield new insights in the future that we haven’t even considered.