SDO's HD View of the 2012 Venus Transit

[pokerfan]

Launched on Feb. 11, 2010, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, is the most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun. During its five-year mission, it will examine the sun's atmosphere, magnetic field and also provide a better understanding of the role the sun plays in Earth's atmospheric chemistry and climate. SDO provides images with resolution 8 times better than high-definition television and returns more than a terabyte of data each day.

This video is public domain and can be downloaded at: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010900/a010996/index.html

[bvar22]

1. Spectacular!

I hope Venus lathered up with SPF-90.
That Sun looks HOT.

Love all the different filters.

[SemperEadem]

2. wow..

what an amazing, roiling ball of plasma.

And it's not hardly the biggest known star out there... VY Cannis Majoris is so large that were it in the Sun's place, its circumference would extend out to Saturn. The universe blows my mind.

[pokerfan]

3. I've begun worshiping the sun for a number of reasons....

First of all, unlike some other gods I could mention, I can see the sun. It's there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, and a lovely day. There's no mystery, no one asks for money, I don't have to dress up, and there's no boring pageantry. And interestingly enough, I have found that the prayers I offer to the sun and the prayers I formerly offered to "God" are all answered at about the same 50% rate.
-George Carlin, Brain Droppings

[progressoid]

4. Way cool!