'Spectacular' First Images from New Solar Observatory Released

[mickw]

The first images of the sun beamed home from NASA's newest solar observatory have wowed mission scientists with their extraordinary detail and unexpected findings.

NASA released the first new images today from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, a probe launched on Feb. 11 to peer deep into the layers of the sun, monitor solar storms and investigate the mysteries of the sun's inner workings.

"The spacecraft and the instruments are working very well," said Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. "What we've seen is truly, in my view, spectacular."

More:   Space.com

[Mike]

http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/firstlight/

[mickw]

Wow 

[mickw]

And todays APOD

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/

[Mike]

Did you see this movie on the website? - http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/firstlight/movies/prominence20100330_sm.mov

[mickw]

Yep, fantastic