Something unexpected is happening on the Sun. 2013 was supposed to be the year of "solar maximum," the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle. Yet 2013 has arrived and solar activity is relatively low.
This is an image of magnetic loops on the sun, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). It has been processed to highlight the edges of each loop to make the structure more clear.
A solar eruption gracefully rose up from the sun on Dec. 31, 2012, twisting and turning. Magnetic forces drove the flow of plasma, but without sufficient force to overcome the sun's gravity much of the plasma fell back into the sun.
On Oct. 22, 2012, the sun emitted another mid-level flare, which peaked at 2:51 p.m. EDT. The flare emerged from the same region as the M9 flare on Oct. 20, an active region that has been numbered AR 1598. The flare is classified as an M5 flare, which means it was weaker than the earlier one.
On July 23, 2012, a massive cloud of solar material erupted off the sun's right side, zooming out into space, passing one of NASA's Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft along the way.
This image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a very long, whip-like solar filament extending over half a million miles in a long arc above the sun's surface.
This image was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) on July 19, 2012 of an M7.7 class solar flare.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured approximately 18 hours of video for this dancing plasma from June 24 through June 25. Suspended in twisted magnetic fields, the hot plasma structure is many times the size of planet Earth.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an M1.2 class flare on June 13, 2012.
"This Week at NASA" looks at the upcoming SDO Mission and keeps going and going with the Mars Opportunity Rover. Updates on STS-130 and Expedition 23.
SDO Mission scientists participated in a briefing to discuss the upcoming launch and science of an unprecedented mission to study the sun and its dynamic behavior. The briefing on the Solar Dynamics Observatory mission took place in Washington and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.