NASA's Illuminate Series (2024)

Largest Sunspot in Almost a DecadeThis is the biggest sunspot we’ve seen in almost a decade!Sunspots are cooler, darker areas on the solar surface where the Sun’s magnetic field gets especially intense, often leading to explosive solar eruptions. This sunspot was so big that nearly 14 Earths could fit inside it! The eruptions from this sunspot resulted in the historic May 2024 geomagnetic storms, where the aurora borealis, or northern lights, were seen as far south as the Florida Keys.Video Credit: NASA/Beth AnthonyMusic Credit: “Chronicle of Time” by Guy Skornik [SACEM] and Elisabeth Skornik [SACEM] via Universal Production MusicFind the source imagery here.

Spacecraft Captures Monster FlareThis monster was the strongest flare of this solar cycle!On October 3, 2024, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this X9.0 flare erupting from the Sun. Minutes later, radio blackouts swept over the Atlantic Ocean. Solar flares are powerful bursts of light from the Sun, and scientists use letters to rate them based on their intensity: A, B, C, M, and X. X-class is the most powerful rating, 10 times stronger than the next highest classification. These categories are further divided using numbers after the letters, with higher numbers used for stronger flares.Video Credit: NASA/Lacey YoungMusic Credit: “Interconnected” by Peter David Lambrou [PRS] via Universal Production MusicFind the source imagery here.

The Sun's CycleThe seasons of the Sun!Just as Earth goes through seasonal changes, our Sun moves from times of frequent explosive eruptions to calm stretches of relative quiescence. It’s all part of the roughly 11-year alternation in magnetic activity known as the solar cycle. Right now we’re in the period known as solar maximum — and solar activity is at its peak! Flares, coronal mass ejections, and the northern and southern lights are most readily observed during this time. But eventually, our closest star will return to its slumber… only to reawaken years later.Video Credit: NASA/Joy NgMusic Credit: “Kinetic Worlds” by Jay Price [PRS] from Universal Production MusicFind the source imagery below:• Solar Cycle 25• Active Region 13842 / X2.1 and X1.0 Flare (Oct. 7, 2024)• Active Region 13842 / X7.1 Flare (Oct. 1, 2024)• Active Region 13825 / X4.5 Flare (Sept. 14, 2024)

NASA Spacecraft Gets Photobombed!A breathtaking moment captured by NASA’s STEREO spacecraft — but who is the real STAR here!?In March 2013, STEREO, a spacecraft designed to monitor solar explosions, got photobombed by comet C/2011 L4 Pan-STARRS!On the left, solar material erupts from the Sun, while Earth glows on the right. Then comet Pan-STARRS streaks right through the middle of the shot. We should treasure the interruption, though: This comet won’t be back for another 100,000 years!Video Credit: NASA/Beth AnthonyMusic Credit: “Everyday Stories” by Eric Chevalier [SACEM] via Universal Production MusicFind the source imagery here.

Comet Soars by Erupting SunWell, look who decided to swing by — a bright and shiny visitor from the Oort Cloud!For a few days in October 2024, our own Sun was upstaged by Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, an icy, rocky dustball (a.k.a. comet) plunging toward the Sun from the outer solar system. The comet was the second-brightest ever seen by ESA/NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, and it happened to be passing by while the Sun was already putting on quite a show. Enjoy!Video Credit: NASA/Lacey YoungMusic Credit: “Anomalies” by Lindsay Debra Wright [PRS] via Universal Production Music