Burning Image: See the Sun Like Never Before

NASA cameras orbiting the sun enable a three dimensional portrait for the first time in history.

 

You see the sun pretty much every day, right? Well, not really. The gargantuan life-giving gas giant is so large and remote that even satellite images have only ever been able to get a view of one side of it at a time. It takes 27 days of rotation for the full star to reveal itself.

 

Now, though, thanks to NASA's STEREO program (a loose acronym for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory), we can see the entire sun in full, stunning 3D. The space org launched two satellite camera's back in 2006 and sent them rotating in opposite directions around the sun. Just yesterday, they reached a point where they are filming our star from exact opposite directions -- providing a complete view. We will now have the sun covered for the next 8 years. Watch the video above.

[NASA]

Latest in Pop Culture