Three Years of Solar Activity: Insights from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory

Over three years since its launch in 2010, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has provided near-continuous imagery of the Sun as it approached solar maximum. Capturing images every 12 seconds in 10 different wavelengths, this video compresses three years of solar activity into a sequence showcasing the Sun’s rotation and increasing activity in extreme ultraviolet light (171 Angstroms). Key highlights include solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and events like the transit of Venus and comet Lovejoy. The stability of SDO’s images, despite its high-speed orbit, is essential for advancing our understanding of space weather and improving predictive capabilities.