SDO

Solar Dynamics Observatory

active Mission

What

Science Objectives

Overview

Our Eye on the Sun

Latest

Where is SDO?

concept image of a spacecraft looking at the Sun.

SDO studies how solar activity is created and drives space weather, by monitoring the Sun’s interior, atmosphere, magnetic field, and energy output.

Type

Space Observatory

Launch

Feb. 11, 2010

Target

Sun

Objective

Study how solar activity is created and drives space weather

Experience Earth, our solar system, nearby asteroids, the universe, and the spacecraft exploring them with immersive real-time 3D web-based apps for Mac, PC and mobile devices. No download or sign up necessary.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/VTAD

SDO Stories

Explore All SDO Stories

Article

3 min read

Ready, Set, Action! Our Sun is the Star in Dazzling Simulation

News Release

2 min read

NASA Awards Contract Extension for Solar Science Instrument

An image of the Sun shows a bright flash in the bottom right side where a solar flare erupts.

5 min read

How NASA Tracked the Most Intense Solar Storm in Decades

Article6 months ago

An image comparing a solar corona model on the left and an actual image of the solar corona on the right. A white line vertically cuts through the middle of the image.

2 min read

2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Prediction vs. Reality

Image Article

Against a black background, the total solar eclipse. It is a black circle surrounded by white, wispy streams of light that flow away from the black circle in every direction.

5 min read

The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

Article7 months ago

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The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

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