First images of the sun from NOAA's GOES-16 satellite

NASA has released the very first images of the sun taken by the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) on NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite. The photos show the sun captured by the six different channels on the SUVI instrument. Each channel views the sun at a different wavelength, allowing scientists a broader perspective of solar activity which helps to better forecast space weather.

The images highlight the large coronal hole in the southern hemisphere of the sun. Coronal holes are regions where the sun’s corona looks darker. This occurs because the plasma has high-speed streams that are open to space, which in turn, causes cooler, low-density areas.

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By Rory Arnold, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: NOAA