The Sun (some pics inside)

[FrostedxB]

http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/stunning-sun-imagery_2010-04-22

NASA's recently launched Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, is returning early images that confirm an unprecedented new capability for scientists to better understand our sun’s dynamic processes.

"These initial images show a dynamic sun that I had never seen in more than 40 years of solar research,” said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/8_22170.html

Thus far solar cycle 24 has not been particularly intense, and some scientists at the recent American Astronomical Society meeting say that it could be half as strong as the last three cycles. There's a lot to learn though. "Space weather forecasting is still in its infancy," says Thomas Bogdan of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. "But we're making rapid progress."

 

[Escaep]

I read the title as "Pics inside the sun" and was like :O

 

[DEATHMASTER]

What's the 2nd pic

 

[xcellerate]

the crazy thing is that flare is probably like 10 earths tall.

 

[Tyguy]

What's the 2nd pic

Just a different filter. Those granules look lovely

 

[Remus]

the crazy thing is that flare is probably like 10 earths tall.

Judging by the curvature of the sun, I'd say more like 100 Earths tall.

 

[Bad^Hat]

^ From the link:

 

[Raziaar]

Neat special effects!

 

[Vegeta897]

Judging by the curvature of the sun,

Um... wat? All spheres/circles have the exact same curvature regardless of size.

 

[sixteenth]

2012.

Spoiler

 

[Acepilotf14]

I ****ING LOVE SPACE!!!

 

[Raziaar]

Um... wat? All spheres/circles have the exact same curvature regardless of size.

Umm, what he's talking about is how much of the curvature you can see... meaning how close/far it is.

The earth is round, but you can't actually see the curvature until you go up into the atmosphere a ways.

 

[Vegeta897]

Oh lol, I didn't know this article was about our sun. I thought he was judging the size of that sun based on the curvature... Which doesn't make any sense. But he's talking about the size of the flare.

 

[Remus]

But he's talking about the size of the flare.

Anyway I exaggerated, as I didn't notice the "approximate size of the Earth" bit right under my nose.

 

[Warped]

www.Space.com is a good start if anyone likes shit like this

 

[sinkoman]

Oh lol, I didn't know this article was about our sun. I thought he was judging the size of that sun based on the curvature... Which doesn't make any sense. But he's talking about the size of the flare.

I always thought that "Sun" was the explicit name for the star at the center of the Solar System.

 

[Vegeta897]

What made me think it was a different sun was "These initial images show a dynamic sun" the indefinite article confused me.

 

[Remus]

Sol sounds a lot cooler than just Sun.

 

[Adabiviak]

Check 'the surface of the sun' website for a number of videos of this sort of thing. Super interesting.

 

[The_Freeman]

Sol sounds a lot cooler than just Sun.

Thats why its called the Solar system

Also found a huge reference map of the universe

Spoiler

]

 

[dfc05]

Cool universe map. All these space threads really make me wish I'd retained more from astronomy class .

 

[staticprimer]

I ****ING LOVE SPACE!!!

This, so very much.

 

[15357]

Space is goddamn awesome. Let none say anything to the contrary.

 

[Skaadi]

www.Space.com is a good start if anyone likes shit like this

Speaking of this:

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/amelia-earhart-watch-space-mementos-100618.html

Doug Wheelock is set to become the first active duty U.S. Army officer to command a spacecraft — the space station.

dun dun dunnn SPACE MARINES.

 

[The_Freeman]

According to NASA a "perfect" Solar storm could happen in 2013. Which could possibly make alot of GPS, ATC, Power grids and eletrical products have great trouble functoning and cause possibly trillions of loss to the economy.

On the bright side there would be aurorae all over the Earth. Spectacular but destructive

 

[The Monkey]

**** the sun, the sun sucks.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Said the man from the land of the midnight sun

 

[ian1]

**** the sun, the sun sucks.

Yeah! Apart from keeping us all alive, what has the sun ever done for us?