The Solar Dynamics Observatory from NASA recently captured an image of something on the sun which appears to be a happy, smiling face pattern. It seems that the sun was smiling. NASA released this image on Twitter with the caption, “Say cheese! Today NASA caught the sun smiling. Visible in ultraviolet light, these were dark patches on the sun and are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space.”
The image showed the sun spewing vast streams of solar winds, which are capable of triggering a mild solar storm on the Earth. This image was captured by the Observatory which is an agency aimed at investigating how solar activity is created and drives the weather in space. It was first launched on February 11, 2010, and its spacecraft measures the sun’s interior, atmosphere, energy output and magnetic field.
Since this image has been released it got a lot of comments and responses. Some people have compared the image to a carved Halloween pumpkin and some to a ferocious lion. People have also compared it to some animated characters in various shows and movies. Another user compared it to a biscuit that also features smiling faces.
Experts have warned that despite the friendly look of the sun, the coronal holes may indicate a solar storm hitting the earth very soon. These solar storms are a variety of eruptions of mass and energy from the solar surface that deform the earth’s magnetic field and as a result, there is an increase in the visibility of polar lights also known as auroras in the northern and southern hemispheres.
They can not only cause havoc to the technology and communications on earth but can also affect power grids, GPS, spacecraft and astronauts due to the release of magnetic energy.
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