A NASA satellite captured an image of what appeared to be a happy face pattern on the sun earlier this week, prompting the US space agency to say the sun was seen “smiling “.
The agency posted the image Wednesday on Twitter, writing: “Today, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the ‘smiling’ sun. Seen in ultraviolet light, these dark sunspots are known as coronal holes and they are regions where the fast solar wind flows into space.”
Call it cheese! 📸
Today, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the “smiling” Sun. Seen in ultraviolet light, these dark spots on the Sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where the fast solar wind gushes out into space. pic.twitter.com/hVRXaN7Z31
— NASA Sun, Space & Scream 🎃 (@NASASun) October 26
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory is an agency mission designed to investigate how solar activity is created and how it drives space weather. First launched on February 11, 2010, the observatory’s spacecraft measure the sun’s interior, atmosphere, magnetic field and energy production.
Since its publication, the Nasa photo has sparked a flurry of responses online, with many comparing the image to a carved Halloween pumpkin, lion and sun featured in children’s show Teletubbies.
One user replied: “This is the face of the Stay Puf[t] Ghostbusters Marshmallow Man?”
Another compared the sun to BN Mini chocolate chip cookies which also feature smiley faces.
Despite their friendly appearance, experts warn that the sun’s coronal holes could mean a solar storm that will hit Earth on Saturday. Spaceweather.com said: “My merry [sic] is throwing a triple stream of solar wind toward Earth.”
Solar storms are a variety of eruptions of mass and energy from the Sun’s surface that in turn distort the Earth’s magnetic field. As a result, these storms increase the visibility of the aurora borealis, also known as auroras, in the northern and southern hemispheres.