February 11, 2015 marks five years in space for NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which provides incredibly detailed images of the whole sun 24 hours a day. Capturing an image more than once per second, SDO has provided an unprecedentedly clear picture of how massive explosions on the sun grow and erupt ever since its launch on Feb. 11, 2010. The imagery is also captivating, allowing one to watch the constant ballet of solar material through the sun’s atmosphere, the corona.
In honor of SDO’s fifth anniversary, NASA has released a video showcasing highlights from the last five years of sun watching. Watch the movie to see giant clouds of solar material hurled out into space, the dance of giant loops hovering in the corona, and huge sunspots growing and shrinking on the sun’s surface.
The imagery is an example of the kind of data that SDO provides to scientists. By watching the sun in different wavelengths – and therefore different temperatures – scientists can watch how material courses through the corona, which holds clues to what causes eruptions on the sun, what heats the sun’s atmosphere up to 1,000 times hotter than its surface, and why the sun’s magnetic fields are constantly on the move.
Five years into its mission, SDO continues to send back tantalizing imagery to incite scientists’ curiosity. For example, in late 2014, SDO captured imagery of the largest sun spots seen since 1995 as well as a torrent of intense solar flares. Solar flares are bursts of light, energy and X-rays. They can occur by themselves or can be accompanied by what’s called a coronal mass ejection, or CME, in which a giant cloud of solar material erupts off the sun, achieves escape velocity and heads off into space. In this case, the sun produced only flares and no CMEs, which, while not unheard of, is somewhat unusual for flares of that size. Scientists are looking at that data now to see if they can determine what circumstances might have led to flares eruptions alone.
Goddard built, operates and manages the SDO spacecraft for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. SDO is the first mission of NASA’s Living with a Star Program. The program’s goal is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the sun-Earth system that directly affect our lives and society.
Artist Richard Ankrom took it upon himself to install a sign on the 110 freeway in DTLA that instructed northbound drivers to get in the far left lane to hit the I-5. For years, the absence of this clarification was causing confusion and subsequent congestion — even accidents — up by Dodger Stadium.
(via We Like LA)
The three-and-a-half-hour SNL 40th Anniversary Special airs today, with quite the stellar guest list:
50 Cent
Adam Sandler
Aidy Bryant
Al Franken
Alec Baldwin
Amy Poehler
Andy Samberg
Arcade Fire
Backstreet Boys
Beck Bennett
Betty White
Bill Hader
Bill Murray
Billy Crystal
Bobby Moynihan
Bradley Cooper
Candice Bergen
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Cecily Strong
Charlie Day
Cheri Oteri
Chevy Chase
Chris Kattan
Chris Parnell
Chris Rock
Christopher Walken
Colin Jost
Colin Quinn
Dakota Johnson
Dan Aykroyd
Dana Carvey
Darrell Hammond
David Spade
Deborah Harry
Derek Jeter
Eddie Murphy
Edward Norton
Ellen Cleghorne
Elliott Gould
Elvis Costello
Emma Stone
Fiona Apple
Fred Armisen
Garrett Morris
George Lucas
Gilbert Gottfried
Glenn Close
Horatio Sanz
J.K. Simmons
Jack Nicholson
Jack White
James Franco
Jane Curtin
Jason Sudeikis
Jay Pharaoh
Jerry Seinfeld
Jim Carrey
Jimmy Fallon
Joe Piscopo
John Goodman
Johnny Knoxville
Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Lovitz
Julia Sweeney
Justin Timberlake
Kanye West
Kate McKinnon
Keith Richards
Kenan Thompson
Kerry Washington
Kevin Nealon
Kristen Wiig
Kyle Mooney
Laraine Newman
Larry David
Leslie Jones
Louis C.K.
Ludacris
Martin Short
Maya Rudolph
Melissa McCarthy
Michael Che
Michael Douglas
Mike Myers
Miley Cyrus
Molly Shannon
‘N Sync
Norm Macdonald
Paul McCartney
Paul Rudd
Paul Simon
Pete Davidson
Peyton Manning
Rachel Dratch
Rob Schneider
Robert De Niro
Rudy Giuliani
Sarah Palin
Sarah Silverman
Sasheer Zamata
Sean Hayes
Seth Meyers
Sigourney Weaver
Steve Martin
Steven Spielberg
Taran Killam
Taylor Swift
Tim Meadows
Tina Fey
Tom Hanks
Vanessa Bayer
Victoria Jackson
Will Ferrell
Will Forte
Zach Galifianakis
Rolling Stone has ranked all 141 cast members. According to them, the top ten:
10. Chevy Chase
9. Gilda Radner
8. Amy Poehler
7. Phil Hartman
6. Bill Murray
5. Dan Aykroyd
4. Mike Myers
3. Tina Fey
2. Eddie Murphy
1. John Belushi
How Dana Carvey’s not in the top five is beyond me. At least Phil Hartman made the top ten.
“What’s your favorite SNL skit?” remains one of the best conversation starters of all time. There are dozens that come to my mind, and this is the first:
