NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) allows the space organization to keep a vigil on the sun at any given time. It recently released a spectacular image of the sun that shows a dark line across the lower half of the celestial body. The line represents a filament of solar material floating above the surface of the sun. The SDO also released a spectacular video to mark the five glorious years since the first launch of the spacecraft.
The image was captured on February 10 by the SDO, and it shows a dark line snaking the sun. The SDO is designed to represent colder material as dark and the other hotter and dark materials as light. Scientists explained that the dark line observed in the picture is a cluster of cold material that has been floating in the sun’s atmosphere, or the corona.
Scientists refer the dark line or the cold material as solar filament. The filament is expected to as much as 533,000 miles in length, which is longer than 67 Earths arranged in a row. These filaments can be observed floating sedately for several days before they disappear. On other occasions, they erupt into the space to either get completely lost or release solar material as showers. Sometimes, they become a coronal mass ejection or a moving cloud.
The SDO takes pictures of the filament in different wavelengths that help in understanding material having different temperatures. The differences in wavelengths and temperatures help scientists understand the cause of these structures. It also helps in understanding the catalysts that cause the phenomenon of eruptions occasionally witnessed.
The SDO was launched on February 11 in 2010 with an aim of understanding the causes of solar variability and its influence on the Earth. With the long-term measurements provided by the spacecraft, scientists seek to obtain detailed information about the sun’s interior, its magnetic field, and its corona.