“New year.
New me.”
—
the Sun.⁣
⁣
🎊🌎☀️📅🥳🌅
⁣
The very star we use to mark time and our place in the universe is itself constantly in flux.
Our Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite helps us understand the causes of solar variability and its impacts on Earth.
By measuring how the Sun's magnetic field is generated and structured,
we can study how it affects our lives and technology.
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Swipe ⬅️
to see solar images captured today in different wavelengths that scientists can use to paint a full picture of our constantly changing Sun.⁣
⁣
Image Credit:
NASA⁣
⁣ #nasa #sunshine #newyearsday #newyear #newyearnewme #space

Just as different chemical compounds give fireworks their pops of color,
the Earth has a light show of its own.
🌎☀️
🎆
👩‍🚀
📸

Though they are best seen at night,
auroras like the ones seem in these images actually occur because of the Sun.
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⁣
When a solar storm comes toward us,
some of the energy and small particles can travel down the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles into Earth’s atmosphere.
There,
the particles interact with gases in our atmosphere resulting in beautiful displays of light in the sky.
Oxygen gives off green and red light,
and Nitrogen glows blue and purple.
Luckily,
this beautiful phenomenon isn’t just limited to Earth.
If a planet has an atmosphere and magnetic field,
it probably has auroras.
These photos were taken by astronauts aboard the @iss,
but we’ve seen amazing auroras on Jupiter and Saturn as well.⁣
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Image Credit:
NASA &
@EuropeanSpaceAgency ⁣
⁣ #NASA #aurora #fireworks #newyearseve #space #spacestation #photography #astronaut

A frozen moonrise ❄️
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This otherworldly image taken by astronauts on the International Space Station (@ISS)
actually shows a full Moon over Hudson Bay in Canada,
where icy shorelines and frozen landscapes are seen below thin clouds.⁣
⁣
The small villages and towns along these shores in Manitoba Province receive just 6 to 7 hours of sunlight each day in December.
A bit farther north,
the Sun will not rise above the horizon again until January.
This photo,
taken on Dec.
12 around 1 p.m.
local time,
shows just how little sunlight reaches northern Canada during a winter day.⁣
⁣
Image Credit:
NASA⁣
⁣ #moon #frozen #ice #fullmoon #Canada #HudsonBay