In February 2020, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory—SDO—is celebrating its 10th year in space. Over the past decade the spacecraft has kept a constant eye on the sun, studying how the sun creates solar activity and drives space weather—the dynamic conditions in space that impact the entire solar system, including Earth.
Since its launch on Feb. 11, 2010, SDO has collected millions of scientific images of our nearest star, giving scientists new insights into its workings. SDO's measurements of the sun—from the interior to the atmosphere, magnetic field, and energy output—have greatly contributed to our understanding of our closest star. SDO's images have also become iconic—if you've ever seen a close up of activity on the sun, it was likely from an SDO image.
