While many people celebrated Earth Day on Thursday, NASA had its eye on the sun.
The space agency released stunning new images of the sun that have been sent back by its Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which was launched into space on February 11.
The craft is just beginning its five-year mission, which will help scientists learn more about our sun's dynamic processes, examining the sun's magnetic field and researching the role the sun plays in Earth's atmospheric chemistry and climate.
This full-disk multiwavelength extreme ultraviolet image of the sun was taken by the SDO on March 30. The false colors denote different gas temperatures. Reds are relatively cool (at least in terms of the sun) at about 60,000 Kelvin, or 107,540 degrees Fahrenheit, while the blues and greens are hotter, at more than 1 million Kelvin, or 1,799,540 degrees Fahrenheit.
Photo by NASA/Goddard/SDO AIA Team
Stunning New Images of the Sun
Stunning New Images of the Sun
Stunning New Images of the Sun
Stunning New Images of the Sun
