Solar Dynamics and Features

Stunning visuals of the Sun, showcasing prominent solar activities including eruptions and prominences in vivid red hues.

A bright, flashing eruption on the edge of the Sun was caught in extreme ultraviolet light by the EIT 304 angstrom instrument on SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory). A spectral line of singly-ionized helium at 304 angstroms shows the state of the solar plasma at roughly 60,000 C. This 'small' event was still several times larger than the Earth.

A view of a fairly normal Sun, with solar prominences on the edge, seen in the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)'s Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) 304 Angstrom instrument.

One of the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft (Behind) observed in the 304 Angstrom wavelength an elongated loop that emerged and then dispersed over a two-day period. This immense structure is generated by magnetic forces rooted inside the Sun. At its greatest extension it reached about 250,000 miles (400,000 Km) across, roughly the distance from Earth to the moon.

A beautiful prominence eruption shot off the east limb (left side) of the sun on Monday, April 16, 2012. Such eruptions are often associated with solar flares, and in this case an M1 class (medium-sized) flare did occur at the same time, though it was not aimed toward Earth. This event, which is still in progress, was seen by NASAs SDO satellite.

A bright, flashing eruption on the edge of the Sun was caught in extreme ultraviolet light by the EIT 304 angstrom instrument on SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory). A spectral line of singly-ionized helium at 304 angstroms shows the state of the solar plasma at roughly 60,000 C. This 'small' event was still several times larger than the Earth.

A close-up of twisting plasma above the Sun's surface produced a nice display of turbulence by caused combative magnetic forces (June 7-8, 2016) over a day and a half as seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 11 24 p.m. EST on Jan. 12, 2015. NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This flare is classified as an M5.6-class flare. M-class flares are a tenth the size of the most intense flares, the X-class flares. The number provides more information about its strength. An M2 is twice as intense as an M1, an M3 is three times as intense, etc.

Active region AR 12192 on the sun erupted with a strong flare on Oct. 24, 2014, as seen in the bright light of this image captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. This image shows extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the hot solar material in the sun's atmosphere.

The dark coronal hole in the Sun's lower region is a 'open' magnetic area through which the solar wind follows, seen in this view from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)'s Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) 284 Angstrom instrument.

On March 29, 2014 the sun released an X-class flare. It was observed by NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS; NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO; NASA's Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager, or RHESSI; the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hinode; and the National Solar Observatory's Dunn Solar Telescope located at Sacramento Peak in New Mexico. To have a record of such an intense flare from so many observatories is unprecedented. Such research can help scientists better understand what catalyst sets off these large explosions on the sun. Perhaps we may even some day be able to predict their onset and forewarn of the radio blackouts solar flares can cause near Earth - blackouts that can interfere with airplane, ship and military communications. Read more a href= http //1.usa.gov/1kMDQbO rel= nofollow 1.usa.gov/1kMDQbO /a Join our Google+ Hangout on May 8 at 2 30pm EST a href= http //go.nasa.gov/1mwbBEZ rel= nofollow go.nasa.gov/1mwbBEZ /a

The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft Behind observed in the 304 Angstrom wavelength a great deal of solar plasma sliding along the edge of the Sun over a two-day period. These immense structures are generated by magnetic forces rooted inside the Sun.

An active region at the edge of the Sun blew out an X4 flare (one of the largest of the solar cycle) and a coronal mass ejection on Feb. 25, 2014. The still image of the ejected plasma (taken at 00 45 UT) shows it curled like a shrimp, but this eruption was no shrimp it was powerful. The images seen here are a combination of two wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light (171 and 304 Angstroms). The video clip covers about three hours of activity.

Image taken by SDOs AIA instrument at 171 Angstrom shows the current conditions of the quiet corona and upper transition region of the Sun. SDO is the first mission in a NASA science program called Living With a Star, the goal of which is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the sun-Earth system that directly affect our lives and society.

Calm Chromosphere

An erupting prominence observed by SDO on March 30, 2010.

January 23, 2012 - An intensity M8.7 solar flare on the Sun's surface. A stream of solar material is seen flowing off into space above the hot spot, likely solar protons and a coronal mass ejection.

NASA image captured April 1, 2011 Twice a year, SDO enters an eclipse season where the spacecraft slips behind Earth for up to 72 minutes a day. Unlike the crisp shadow one sees on the sun during a lunar eclipse, Earth's shadow has a variegated edge due to its atmosphere, which blocks the sun light to different degrees depending on its density. Also, light from brighter spots on the sun may make it through, which is why some solar features extend low into Earth's shadow.

sun with International Space Station An illustration of our sun with International Space Station Copyright: xZoonar.com/magannx 15917342

The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)'s Ahead spacecraft imaged an enormous wave (left of center) rippling across the Sun, seen in extreme ultraviolet at 195 Angstroms

A prominence at the edge of the sun provided us with a splendid view of solar plasma as it churned and streamed over less than one day (June 25-26, 2017). The charged particles of plasma were being manipulated by strong magnetic forces. When viewed in this wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, we can trace the movements of the particles. Such occurrences are fairly common but much easier to see when they are near the sun's edge. For a sense of scale, the arch of prominence in the still image has risen up several times the size of Earth. Movies are available at

This illustration lays a depiction of the sun's magnetic fields over an image captured by NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory on March 12, 2016. The complex overlay of lines can teach scientists about the ways the sun's magnetism changes in response to the constant movement on and inside the sun. Note how the magnetic fields are densest near the bright spots visible on the sun - which are magnetically strong active regions - and many of the field lines link one active region to another. This magnetic map was created using the PFSS - Potential Field Source Surface - model, a model of the magnetic field in the suns atmosphere based on magnetic measurements of the solar surface. The underlying image was taken in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths of 171 angstroms. This type of light is invisible to our eyes, but is colorized here in gold.

Sun star surface with solar flares, burning of sun animation 3D rendering

. NASA's Best-Observed X-Class Flare of All Time

A solar flare and coronal mass ejection began a high energy proton event that pelted the SOHO spacecraft for over three days (September 24-26, 2001). The sun is observed in extreme ultraviolet light - the protons hits appear as white snowy particles.

The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)'s Ahead spacecraft view of the Sun seen in extreme ultraviolet at 304 Angstroms. STEREO's images are of a higher resolution than Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

NASA image captured June 5, 2012. On June 5-6 2012, SDO is collecting images of one of the rarest predictable solar events the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart that are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The last transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117. i

A coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted from just around the edge of the sun on May 1, 2013, in a gigantic rolling wave. CMEs can shoot over a billion tons of particles into space at over a million miles per hour. This CME occurred on the suns limb and is not headed toward Earth. The video (seen here a href= http //bit.ly/103whUl rel= nofollow bit.ly/103whUl /a ), taken in extreme ultraviolet light by NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), covers about two and a half hours.

On August 31, 2012 a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupted out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3. Picuted here is a lighten blended version of the 304 and 171 angstrom wavelengths. Cropped

Solar prominence. A prominence is a large, bright feature extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop shape. Prominences are anchored to the Sun's surface in the photosphere, and extend outwards into the Sun's corona.

An active region just about squarely facing Earth erupted with an X 1.6 flare (largest class) as well as a coronal mass ejection on Sept. 10, 2014. The flare lasted longer than usual and sent out a burst of radiation into space. The movie shows the bright, flickering flare and the ensuing coils of magnetic loops over a period of about five hours. A darker wave of material was also propelled across part of the Sun's surface. Images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light.

Corona and Transition region clearly visible from a satellite orbiting earth. A full-disk multiwavelength extreme ultraviolet image of the sun taken in 2010. False colors trace different gas temperatures. Reds are relatively cool (about 60,000 Kelvin, or 107,540 F); blues and greens are hotter (greater than 1 million Kelvin, or 1,799,540 F).

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) observed two huge eruptive prominences arching out from the Sun. They were captured in extreme ultraviolet light (ionized helium at 304 angstroms) and formed a loop that extended forty times the diameter of Earth.

This long prominence (upper right), seen in extreme ultraviolet light in ionized iron at 195 angstroms by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), extended over half the diameter of the Sun - about 50 million miles (85 million km). Then in a dramatic development, it lifted off like the edge of a spider web being stretched until it broke.

The Sun's rotation brought a new active region into view, revealing the dynamic arches and twisting streams of its magnetic field (Oct. 10-11, 2018). A new active region is becoming more of a rare sight, as the Sun is currently approaching solar minimum -- the point of the 11-year solar cycle when activity is most reduced. The video clip, showing images taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light covers 33 hours and consists of over 500 frames (i.e., one frame selected every 4 minutes). Animations are available at

A dark line snaked across the lower half of the sun on Feb.10, 2015, as seen in this image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO. SDO shows colder material as dark and hotter material as light, so the line is, in fact, an enormous swatch of colder material hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona. Stretched out, that line - or solar filament as scientists call it - would be more than 533,000 miles long. That is longer than 67 Earths lined up in a row. Filaments can float sedately for days before disappearing. Sometimes they also erupt out into space, releasing solar material in a shower that either rains back down or escapes out into space, becoming a moving cloud known as a coronal mass ejection, or CME. SDO captured images of the filament in numerous wavelengths, each of which helps highlight material of different temperatures on the sun. By looking at such features in different wavelengths and temperatures, scientists learn more about what causes these structures, as we

This still image from an animation from NASA's GSFC's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows arches of magnetic field lines towered over the edge of the Sun as a pair of active regions began to rotate into view (Apr. 5-6, 2016).

The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft Ahead observed in the 304 Angstrom wavelength an eruptive solar prominence on the edge of the Sun using its Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUVI).

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observes two relatively small prominences above the Sun's surface twisted and streamed charged particles over a 20-hour period (July 30-31, 2018), shown here in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Prominences are large, bright features anchored to the Sun's photosphere but extending outward into its hot outer atmosphere, called the corona. Scientists are still researching how and why prominences are formed. Movies are available at

Several times a day for a few days this week the Earth completely blocked the Sun for about an hour due to NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory orbital path (Aug. 25, 2016).

Two substantial coronal mass ejections (CMEs) launch from solar Active Region 792 on the limb of the Sun. This image was taken by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is in extreme ultraviolet at 304 angstroms.

The dark coronal hole in the Sun's lower region is a 'open' magnetic area through which the solar wind follows, seen in this view from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)'s Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) 195 Angstrom instrument.

Strands of plasma at the sun's edge shifted and twisted back and forth over a 22-hour period, May 2-3, 2017. In this close-up from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, the strands are being manipulated by strong magnetic forces associated with active region

Solar activity, computer artwork.

A view of a fairly calm, inactive Sun, seen in the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)'s Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) 171 Angstrom instrument.

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

Three-Telescope View of the Sun. This composite image of the Sun includes high-energy X-ray data from NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) shown in blue; lower energy X-ray data from the X-ray Telescope (XRT) on the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hinode mission shown in green; and ultraviolet light detected by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shown in red. NuSTAR's relatively small field of view means it can't see the entire Sun from its position in Earth orbit, so Figure A is a composite of 25 images, which were taken by the observatory in June 2022. NuSTAR sees high-energy X-rays that appear at only a few locations, where the hottest material is present in the Sun's atmopshere. By contrast, Hinode's XRT and SDO's AIA detect detect wavelengths emitted across the entire face of the Sun. The hotspots observed by NuSTAR might be caused by collections of nanoflares, or small outbursts of heat, light, and particles

On August 31, 2012 a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupted out into space at 4 36 p.m. EDT. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3. The image above includes an image of Earth to show the size of the CME compared to the size of Earth.

A smallish solar filament looks like it collapsed into the sun and set off a minor eruption that hurled plasma into space (June 20, 2017). Then, the disrupted magnetic field immediately began to reorganize itself, hence the bright series of spirals coiling up over that area. The magnetic field lines are made visible in extreme ultraviolet light as charged particles spin along them. Also of interest are the darker, cooler strands of plasma being pulled and twisted at the edge of the sun just below the active region. The activity here is in a 21-hour period. Movies are available at

Extreme Ultraviolet Sun

The only active region observed this week appeared on Dec. 5, 2018 and grew into an average size display of dynamic activity (Dec. 6-7, 2018). As viewed in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, the region presented numerous magnetic loops of charged particles, rapidly changing their shapes and directions. As the sun is approaching its minimum level of activity in its 11 year solar cycle, we expect to see fewer and fewer active regions for quite a while. However, this active region is in the southern hemisphere of the Sun and has the North magnetic pole in the lead, so it is a sunspot of Solar Cycle 24. Movies available at

Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear device, conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945 as a result of the Manhattan Project, in the Jornada del Muerto desert, New Mexico, at the new White Sands Proving Ground. Trinity used an implosion-design plutonium device, informally nicknamed 'The Gadget'.

Two good-sized coronal holes have rotated around to the center of the sun where they will be spewing solar wind towards Earth were observed by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on Nov. 8-9, 2016.

Over the past week, the single, largest feature on the sun was a long coronal hole that stretched out across more than half the diameter of the sun (Mar. 13-15, 2018). Coronal holes appear dark in certain wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light like the one you see here. They are areas of open magnetic fields from which solar wind rushes out into space. This area likely generated the beautiful aurora that were reportedly observed on March 14th in regions near Earth's poles. With the Earth set in the image to show scale, you get a good sense of just how extensive this hole is. Movies are available at

A long arch of plasma (called a prominence) was pulled this way and that by magnetic forces for a week before it finally dissipated (July 10-16, 2014). This close up was captured in extreme ultraviolet light. The Earth scale in the lower left corner gives one a sense of the length of the prominence.

The black structure near the bottom of the image is a solar prominence 50 times the width of Earth breaking away from the Sun. The image is in extreme ultraviolet (ionized iron at 195 angstroms).

An artist's depiction of a planet passing in front of the star it orbits from a distant perspective. The event is known as a transit.

The beginnings of a large solar prominence can be seen at the 2 O'clock position on the Sun in this Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) image, in extreme ultraviolet light emitted by doubly ionized helium at 304 angstroms.

A large, dark coronal hole at the bottom of the Sun has been the most dominant feature this week (Jan. 29, 2014) as seen by NASA GSFC's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

A small eruption blew a bright, disjointed stream of plasma into space (Oct. 18, 2017). The source of the blast was just out of sight beyond the edge of the sun. Images from SOHO's coronagraph instruments show a bright loop of material heading away from the sun near this same area. The video, taken in extreme ultraviolet light, covers just two hours of activity. Movies are available at

red dwarf star sun space view, 3d render

The Sun ejects a spectacular 'eruptive prominence,' a mass of relatively cool plasma, into space. The gas was relatively cool - only 60,000-80,000 Kelvin (110,000 - 145,000 degrees F) compared with the fiery 1.5 million degree K plasma (2.7 million F) surrounding it in the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona. At the time of this snapshot, the eruptive prominence was over 700,000 km (430,000 miles across), over 50 times the Earth's diameter. This image from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (S

This composite image combines NASA's Extreme Ultravoilet Imaging Telescope images from three wavelengths into one that reveals solar features unique to each wavelength.

A powerful active region just rotating into view produced two X-class flares (the strongest category) about an hour apart on June 9, 2014. An X-2.3 flare peaked at 11 52 UT followed by an X-1.5 flare at 12 52 UT. This image shows the first of the two flares. The same active region produced another X class flare and a medium (M-class) flare the following day.

Artwork of red dwarf emitting a flare

February 15, 2011 - Active region 1158 let loose with an X2.2 flare, the largest flare since 2006, and the biggest flare so far in Solar Cycle 24. Active Region 1158 is in the southern hemisphere, which has been lagging the north in activity but now leads in big flares. A coronal mass ejection was also associated with the flare. Much of the vertical line in the image is caused by the bright flash overwhelming the SDO imager.

One of the most spectacular solar flares (upper left) ever recorded spanning more than 588,000 km across the solar surface. NASA photograph.

These three images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite taken over two hours by the LASCO (Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph) C2 instrument show a rapidly expanding coronal mass ejection (CME) blasting billions of tons of particles out from the Sun at over a million kilometers per hour. This is just one of a number of CMEs that occurred during the past week. The Sun, blocked by an occulting disk, is represented by the white circle. The breadth of view of the C2

sun in space An image of a cool sun in space Copyright: xZoonar.com/magannx 3939952

A pair of substantial coronal holes were the most notable features on the Sun over the week of Mar. 28 - Apr. 2, 2015. The images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light by NASA GSFC's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Two solar prominences, directly at opposite sides of the Sun, rose up, twisted around, and fell apart at roughly the same time over a 26-hour period (Nov. 12-13, 2018). Prominences are cooler clouds of plasma suspended above the Sun by powerful magnetic forces. Although prominences are fairly common, it is uncommon to see two of them, about the same size, diametrically opposed to each other and lasting just about the same time. The images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Movie available at

A large coronal hole stands out as the most obvious feature on the sun this week (Oct. 12-13, 2017). The dark structure, shaped kind of like the Pi symbol, spreads across much of the top of the sun. Though one cannot tell from this image and video clip in false-color extreme ultraviolet light, it is spewing high-speed solar wind particles into space and has been doing this all week. It is likely that these charged particles have been interacting with Earth's atmosphere and generating many aurora displays in regions near the poles the past several days. Animations are available at

Sunspot

red planet shines. red planet shines, vector illustration eps 10

A view of our sun with sunspots through a telescope. A view of our sun with sunspots through a telescope with a filter. Copyright: xZoonar.com/AndreasxVölkelx 21959553

Digital Illustration of the Sun and Nine Planets of Our Solar System

Digital Illustration of the Sun and Nine Planets of Our Solar System

Emission nebula, artwork

Digital Illustration of the Sun With Solar Flares

The Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) cameras of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite captured this image of a solar coronal mass ejection, a wave of electrons and protons, and a small amount of heavier element, streaming from the solar corona.

On Oct. 24-25, 2018 a solar prominence rose up above the Sun's surface, twisted and spun around, then became elongated and broke away. Prominences are unstable clouds of cooler plasma suspended above the Sun by strong magnetic forces. They often fall apart after a few days. Although tiny on the scale of the Sun, this prominence stretched out about ten times the diameter of Earth (see inset). Images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Animations are available at

A three-dimensional image of the Sun. STEREO. This image is a composite of left and right eye color image pairs taken by the SECCHI Extreme UltraViolet Imager.

An active region in the Sun (lower left area in these images) unleashed the second largest solar flare observed by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The upper left image in visible light shows the large sunspot associated with the flare, the green image in extreme ultraviolet (195 angstroms, ionized iron) shows the flash of the flare, and the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) cameras show the flare around the Sun - represented as a white circle - in red (304 angstrom

Global view of the surface of Venus

Close-up of a globe

This image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows a broad coronal hole was the dominant feature this week on the sun (Nov. 7-9, 2017). It was easily recognizable as the dark expanse across the top of the sun and extending down in each side. Coronal holes are magnetically open areas on the sun that allow high-speed solar wind to gush out into space. They always appear darker in extreme ultraviolet. This one was likely the source of bright aurora that shimmered for numerous observers, with some reaching down even to Nebraska. Movies are available at

Breast cancer (adenocarcinoma), seen in a mammogram.

Three X-class flares erupted from the left side of the sun June 10-11, 2014. These images are from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and show light in a blend of two ultraviolet wavelengths 171 and 131 angstroms. The former is colorized in yellow; the latter, in red. Read more a href= http //1.usa.gov/1lneJ3p rel= nofollow 1.usa.gov/1lneJ3p /a

NASA image captured June 5, 2012. On June 5-6 2012, SDO is collecting images of one of the rarest predictable solar events the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart that are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The last transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117. i

NASA image captured June 6, 2012. On June 5-6 2012, SDO is collecting images of one of the rarest predictable solar events the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart that are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The last transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117. i

In this annotated infrared image, the five cyclones surrounding a sixth directly over Jupiter's south pole form a pentagonal pattern. The image was taken on Feb. 2, 2017, by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft. The JIRAM instrument measures heat radiated from the planet at an infrared wavelength of around 5 microns.

Illustration of the Sun's magnetic field.

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

Digital Illustration of the Sun and Nine Planets of Our Solar System

Digital Illustration of the Sun and Nine Planets of Our Solar System

This global view of the surface of Venus is centered at 0 degrees east longitude. Magellan.

Solar eclipse for a background 20.03.15. Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Breast cancer seen on a mammogram.

Particularly large groups of sunspots on the Sun.

Nearly a dozen coronal mass ejections in less than four days (May 3-6, 2012) may serve as a reminder that the Sun is approaching its period of maximum activity, expected to peak next year. STEREO (Ahead) from its position over 100 degrees ahead of Earth, captured several major eruptions, with most of them heading way to the right (i.e., away from Earth). In these coronagraph images the Sun is represented by the white circle. The black occulting disk blocks out the Sun and some of the corona so that we can see the faint structures beyond that.

NASA's Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) satellites have provided the first three-dimensional images of the Sun. The structure of the corona shows well in this image.

of 2