Instead, each image is colorized by NASA according to different wavelengths that reveal or highlight specific features of the sun’s activity. The striking colors in these images do not represent the actual colors of the sun as perceived by human eyesight.

Printed with a foil treatment that adds a glimmer to the stamps, the images on these stamps come from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, a spacecraft launched in February 2010 to keep a constant watch on the sun from geosynchronous orbit above Earth. The Postal Service highlights stunning images of the sun that celebrate the science behind the ongoing exploration of our nearest star. Marshall, the Postal Service’s general counsel and executive vice president, and the stamp ceremony’s dedicating official. “We hope these amazing stamps will help generate the same sense of wonder and curiosity about our star that inspired our ancestors and the scientists at NASA to want to better understand the sun, space, and the myriad of possibilities that exist in our solar system, in our universe and beyond,” said Thomas J. News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtags #NASASunScience and #SunSciencestamps. The Forever stamps were dedicated during a ceremony at the Greenbelt Main Post Office and are now for sale at Post Offices nationwide. Postal Service issued the Sun Science stamps today. The SDO is also working towards a 'predictive capability' when it comes to solar activities since the Earth depends on the Sun for life.JPostal Service Makes the Sun Shine Bright With Forever Stamps

The SDO was launch to understand solar activities that can influence the life here on Earth. To capture the solar activity on the surface of the Sun, SDO uses ultraviolet light enabling scientists to clearly scrutinize and understand the behavior of the Sun. The coronal holes can last for months, according to RT.Īccording to NASA, there are various solar activities than can be observed on the surface of the Sun including solar flares, coronal mass ejections, high-speed solar wind and solar energetic particles that are all influenced by the Sun's magnetic field.īut despite being a habitual solar activity, the growing giant hole can also cause some disruption to satellite and radio communications to Earth. Because they contain little solar material, they have lower temperatures and thus appear much darker than their surroundings,' a NASA official said in a statement.Ĭoronal holes are a normal occurrence in the Sun and no matter how massive it appears, scientists confirmed that it shouldn't be feared. 'Coronal holes are low-density regions of the sun's atmosphere, known as the corona. The temperature on the Sun's surface also plays a role in this phenomenon. The areas are thinner due to the lower gas and energy levels. These dark spots are caused by magnetic fields that arch away from different areas in the corona. The spot is called a Coronal hole and it occurs quite often in different sizes. But despite its alarming look, NASA scientists said there's nothing to worry about. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) first detected the giant spot and it was the same equipment that managed to identify the growth of the dark hole on the surface of the Sun. There's a huge black mass growing on the surface of the Sun and NASA is closely monitoring its behavior.ĭon't panic, but a giant hole just formed in the sun /G03WcJ4FwQ

Sun corona hole 2016