Stunning Solar Views: Five Years of the Sun Captured

To commemorate the fifth anniversary of launching the Solar Dynamics Observatory into the solar system, NASA released two extraordinary videos this week. The first is a 'time-lapse' video capturing the appearance of the Sun over the last five years since the arrival of the SDO. The second is a video filmed from particularly impressive angles, documenting a sequence of solar flares.

The spacecraft, launched on February 11, 2010, is an exceptional, unmanned vehicle sent to the solar system to give NASA researchers a glimpse into this dynamic environment. The spectacular footage reveals the Sun’s tumultuous and volatile nature and its frenetic rotation around itself.