Hungry? Here: Have a slice of the Sun
IMAGE: GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio/SDO/NASA
Digital Reporter
Wednesday, December 25, 2013, 2:32 PM -
We often post shots of the star at the heart of our solar system, courtesy of NASA's orbital Solar Dynamics Observatory.
They tend to be popular with our readers, since SDO tends to filter the sun's light through a complex series of false-colour filters, allowing a wide range of VERY colourful light wavelengths to be seen and studied.
This shot, released last week as NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), shows nine "slices" of filtered light, ranging in wavelength from a fetching pink 170 nanometres, down to an eerie green 9.4 micrometres.
The release, on December 21, was timed to coincide with the solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere and the longest in the southern hemisphere.
Aside from APOD, NASA also has a featured image of the day gallery. Check it out.
