NASA Captures Sun's Stunning Light Show for the Holidays (Video)

NASA has captured an absolutely stunning light show just in time for the holidays. A new NASA movie of the sun based on data from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) reveals the wide range of wavelengths, light invisible to the naked eye, the telescope can view.

Telescopes help distant objects appear larger, but this is just one of their advantages. They can also collect light in ranges that our eyes alone cannot see. This provides researchers with valuable data that they can then use for future measurements to learn more about the processes that occur in our universe.

In this particular movie, you can see colors sweep around the sun. In fact, this video shows how different the exact same area of the sun can appear. These differences are due to the fact that each wavelength of light represents solar material at specific temperatures. Different wavelengths convey information about different components of the sun's surface and atmosphere, so scientists use them to paint a full picture of our constantly changing and varying star.

For example, yellow light of 5800 Angstroms generally emanates from material of about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This represents the surface of the sun. In contrast, extreme ultraviolet light of 94 Angstroms, which is typically colorized in green, comes from atoms that are about 11 million degrees Fahrenheit. This is a good wavelength for looking at solar flares.

This latest video shows off the capabilities of NASA's instruments. More specifically, they reveal how scientists can track particles and heat moving through the sun's atmosphere. This in particular is important as researchers attempt to learn more about how exactly our sun works, which could help them predict space weather in the future. This is particularly useful since phenomena, such as coronal mass ejections, can impact satellites and even interrupt communications here on Earth.

Want to see the video for yourself? You can check it out below, courtesy of YouTube.