PIA20881: Magnetic Field Illuminated
 Target Name:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  SDO
 Instrument:  Atmosphere Imaging Assembly
 Product Size:  2100 x 2100 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  SDO
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA20881.tif (12.58 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA20881.jpg (804.6 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

Each day NASA solar scientists produce overlays (in white lines) that show their estimation of how the magnetic field lines above the sun are configured (June16, 2016). In the video clip we show the sun in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, then reveal the magnetic field line configuration in the same wavelength. Notice how the lines are tightly bundled near the lighter-toned active regions, which are magnetically intense regions. The magnetic lines from the darker areas, called coronal holes, open out into space and the extended lines show that. Our magnetically active sun is a dynamic body that changes all the time.

Movies
Magfield_fade193_big.mp4
Magfield_fade193_sm.mp4

SDO is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Its Atmosphere Imaging Assembly was built by the Lockheed Martin Solar Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), Palo Alto, California.

Image Credit:
NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory

Image Addition Date:
2016-06-16