"First Light" images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, a space telescope designed to study the sun.Launched on February 11th from Cape Canaveral.moment SDO's telescope doors opened, it began beaming back. Richard Fisher, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA,said “SDO will change our understanding of the sun and its processes, which affect our lives and society. This mission will have a huge impact on science, similar to Hubble Space Telescope on modern astrophysics.” The sun’s internal dynamics were the subject of intense interest over the last few years as the normal waxing and waning of solar activity did not follow past cycles as closely as anticipated. The solar minimum of 2008 stretched deep into 2009, raising questions about how well we understand the complex internal dynamics that drive sun spots, solar flares and coronal-mass ejections. Because solar storms can disrupt human technologies, it’s important to know when we might expect a serious event that could shut down the electrical grid, for example.
