SDO Sees Sun Tornadoes
Tornado-like plasma twisters dance across the sun in this still from a NASA video recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory during a 30-hour period between Feb. 7 and 8 in 2012.
X-Class Solar Flare Seen by SDO - March 6, 2012
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the huge X-class solar flare erupting from the surface of the sun on March 6, 2012.
Solar Dynamics Observatory Independence Day Fireworks
This image shows four separate images of the M5.3 class flare from the morning of July 4, 2012.
Strong Solar Flare: April 11, 2013
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a powerful M6.5 class flare, the strongest of 2013 at the time, at 3:16 EDT on April 11, 2013. This image shows a combination of light in wavelengths of 131 and 171 Angstroms.
Solar Eruption of Aug. 31, 2012
On Aug. 31, 2012, a giant prominence on the sun erupted, sending out particles and a shock wave that traveled near Earth. This event may have been one of the causes of a third radiation belt that appeared around Earth a few days later, a phenomenon that was observed for the very first time by the newly-launched Van Allen Probes. This image of the prominence before it erupted was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.