SDO Finds the Man in the Sun

We all know about the Man in the Moon, but the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft has now detected an old man in the Sun, too. He was there, at least back on Dec. 9, 2010 when these images were taken, but has since disappeared. In different wavelengths, at times he appears happy, mischievous or even downright angry.

The movie underscores the fact that images taken at different wavelengths do reveal different features. The different wavelengths are shown in order from the lowest temperature material being imaged to the highest. The images also start at the Sun’s surface and gradually move out to the Sun’s upper corona.

SDO never fails to inform as well as amuse!