The Sun is the center of the Solar System igniting life on Earth. Although it is extremely distant from Earth, mankind patiently observes every move the Sun makes to understand the behavior of the star that gives energy to bodies around it. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is solely used for this purpose. And NASA recently released a fascinating video of solar materials twisting from the Sun, captured by the SDO.
In a close-up video of the Sun captured by the SDO on June 7 and 8, evident solar material twists were seen. The turbulence is caused by combative magnetic forces on the Sun according to NASA.
The 23-second video shows movements of solar material from the surface of the spinning Sun. The filaments are long and unstable clouds of solar materials on top of the Sun's surface suspended by magnetic force. The SDO managed to capture the amazing footage by using wavelengths of ultraviolet light; otherwise, the flares are invisible to the naked eye. The video was also enhanced with color so that it is easier for the viewers to identify the clouds of solar materials shooting from the Sun.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory was launched in 2010 for NASA's Living with a Star (LWS) program. The program was designed to understand the causes of solar variability and how it affects the Earth who is directly dependent on the Sun. The mission also aims to understand how the Sun affects other near-Earth objects.
Scientists' goals include "predictive" capability of the Sun's behaviors, the behaviors that can potentially affect life on Earth. Some of SDO's tasks is to understand magnetic energy and how it is converted and released into space in the form of solar wind, energetic particles and variations of solar irradiance.
And after a few years from its launch, the SDO managed to collect valuable data as it hit its 100 millionth image milestone in 2015, according to CNET. According to NASA the Sun also influence other sources on Earth such as gasoline, electricity and of course, energy. NASA is committed to continuing its study of the Sun, the celestial body that prevents the Earth from freezing to death.