Stare at the sun for as long as you want (well, three minutes) without burning out your eyes.
image via youtube screen capture
To celebrate five years since the launch of their Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), NASA released this hypnotically beautiful time-lapse video, allowing us to finally scratch that compulsive itch we’ve all had since childhood (admit it...) when we were told by an adult not to stare at the sun.
[youtube ratio="0.5625" position="standard" caption=""NASA | 5 Year Time-lapse of the Sun" via youtube user NASA Goddard"]
As the Youtube description explains, the video was created by stitching together images taken by the SDO, using
“...one frame every 8 hours starting when data became available in June 2010 and finishing February 8, 2015. The different colors represent the various wavelengths (sometimes blended, sometimes alone) in which SDO observes the sun."
Overly dramatic music aside, there’s something oddly soothing about watching the hypnotic undulation of solar currents for minutes on end, without having to worry about burning our retinas to a crisp.
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