planets

A group of international researchers and scientists have shed light on one of the central mysteries of solar physics: how energy and heat from the Sun is transferred to the Sun's upper atmosphere, heating it to more than 1 million degrees Farenheit - temperatures that are hotter than the Sun's surface. 

With new images taken in granular detail by the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO), the researchers discovered that jets of magnetized plasma (spicules) spurt like geysers from the sun's upper atmosphere into the corona (the outermost part of the Sun's atmosphere). These spicules are between 125 and 310 miles wide and erupt continuously across the Sun's surface. Images of the jets also shows how they are made and the paths they travel (at 62 miles per second).

The corona is invisible to the human eye and the source of the mechanisms has been a confounding mystery for astrophysicists - until now. The GIFs below show granular details of the new images taken by the Big Bear Solar Observatory. 

Who doesn't love a good GIF? I know I do, especially if it's jam packed with interesting things to get my mind thinking. Check out the twelve most interesting GIFs from r/damnthatsinteresting for past week and prepare to have your little brain overflow with interesting things. 

Space is an interesting place, but it can be hard to wrap your head around some of those out-of-this-world concepts. So what better way to learn facts about space than with GIFs? Here are six interesting and educational GIFs made from videos by Dr James O'Donoghue, a planetary scientist based at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Enjoy learning, space cadets. Want to learn more? Check out this article about how the new Mac Pro isn't good at grating cheese. 

One internet artist gave us a real perspective at what the planets would look like if they were as close as the moon. Can you imagine taking a selfie with Saturn in the background? Or taking a SpaceX weekend ride to Pluto? Whatever the case these visuals are simply incredible.