NASA photographs the sun 'smiling' and the image creates buzz

NASA released a new satellite image of the sun this week, which appears to have a big smile on its face. The photo was taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, a program aimed at understanding changes in the sun's radiation.

Credit: NASA

Sharing the snap on Twitter, the official @NASASun account, the US space agency wrote: 'say 'cheese'! Today, the Solar Dynamics Observatory of the NASA caught the Sun 'smiling'.' “Viewed in ultraviolet light, these dark spots on the sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar winds shoot out into space” can also be read in the caption.

The outer layer of the sun is known as the corona, and the darker areas visible in satellite images are the coronal holes. “These are regions of the sun where the magnetic field is open to interplanetary space, sending solar matter flying at full speed in a strong current of solar wind” previously explained NASA. They appear as dark spots, or in this case facial features, as they typically exhibit lower temperatures and densities than their surroundings, giving them an empty appearance.

A photo that makes people react

Coronal holes can occur at any time but cannot be seen with the naked eye or with a home telescope, they are only visible in ultraviolet and X-rays. Twitter users responded to the photo with their own comparisons, some better than others. A user was quick to compare the incredible photo to the faces of cult characters from the Teletubbies cartoon. As a nod to Halloween, another thinks he sees a pumpkin in this smiling sun.

What do you think ?