Solar Tornadoes On the Surface of the Sun (Video)

Tornado-like eruptions of super-hot plasma were captured on video by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which is constantly recording high-definition videos of the sun. The video shows hot plasma spinning across the sun in early February.



Solar tornadoes are not the windy phenomenon that we know on Earth. They are driven by the magnetic fields of the sun.The plasma particles are being pulled by various magnetic forces causing them to swirl in a way that looks like a tornado.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is part of NASA's Living With a Star (LWS) Program. The program is designed to study and understand causes of solar variability and how it impacts the Earth. SDO launched on February 11, 2010, and is on a 5 year mission to study the energy of the sun and how it influences the weather in space. Every day SDO gathers a huge volume of data. The collected data is available for viewing by anyone who wants to see it. The SDO website has an up-to-date-picture of the sun on the home page.

Note: The SDO mission is very cool.

Something else I learned: A solar cycle is the period of time between the highest and lowest number of sunspots. he suns magnetic poles reverse approximately every 22 years with two eleven years periods in which the number of sunspots wax and wane. We are currently in Solar Cycle 24 which began in 2008.

NASA Releases Rare Image of Earth

The latest image is focused on the East, showing Africa, Saudi Arabia and India. Compiled by a NASA Goddard scientist, the image has the perspective of a viewer looking down from 7,918 miles above the Earth’s surface.



High-Res Image of Earth: The Other Side

Kepler-22b, An Earth-like Planet 600 Light Years From Home

I don't believe that there are aliens. I believe there are really different people.
~Orson Scott Card

Although discoverd by NASA's Kepler telescope over 2 years ago, new research suggests that Kepler 22b is the planet most similar to earth yet found. The planet has average temperatures of 72°, and has the correct atmospheric conditions to support life. It is in a "habitable" position in relation to a star very similar to the sun. Scientists believe not only is the planet habitable, it may well be inhabited.

 

Note: I find stories like this very cool!

Something else I learned: The Kepler telescope watches 155,000 stars that exist in the so-called habitable zone of stars that resemble our sun. The telescope watches for small drops in the brightness of the stars which would be caused by the rotation of planets around the star.