Sun Sizzles in High-Energy X-Rays

This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant

pia18906-nustarsun
X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC

For the first time, a mission designed to set its eyes on black holes and other objects far from our solar system has turned its gaze back closer to home, capturing images of our sun. NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has taken its first picture of the sun, producing the most sensitive solar portrait ever taken in high-energy X-rays.
The complete story, courtesy of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab is here: