NASA Satellite Captures Spooky Photo of the Sun “Smiling”
Formed by viewing the sun’s “coronal holes” under UV light.
A satellite employed by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has captured an image of the sun “smiling.” The shot was created due to coronal holes on the sun’s surface viewed under UV light, appearing as dark cutouts. Two of the holes look like twinkling eyes, while a third seems to form a sly grin.
“Seen in ultraviolet light, these dark patches on the Sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space,” NASA described.
Say cheese! 📸
Today, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the Sun “smiling.” Seen in ultraviolet light, these dark patches on the Sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space. pic.twitter.com/hVRXaN7Z31
— NASA Sun, Space & Scream 🎃 (@NASASun) October 26, 2022
In the theme of Halloween, Twitter users were quick to compare the seemingly smiling sun to a carved pumpkin. One user noted that the sun bears an eerie resemblance to the baby sun from Teletubbies.
The solar wind gusts that led to the formation of the sun’s coronal holes may mean that a storm is due to hit Earth soon. While rare, past storms have wiped out power in certain parts of the planet.
Earlier this month, NASA shared a photo of the ancient Pillars of Creation, a huge gas and dust, observed via its James Webb Space Telescope.
In other tech news, Elon Musk will reportedly charge Twitter users $20 USD per month for verification.
