jtotheizzoe:

Solar Palette

If you look at the Sun (which you shouldn’t, ever), you just see white light (for the second or so before your retinas are permanently scorched. That’s a mixture of all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum that our eyes respond to, between 390 and 700 nanometers (or about 3,900 to 7,000 angstroms). And there is a lot we can learn about the Sun by viewing it in that range, from studying its undulating surface swirls to its rotation. 

But scientists at places like NASA can learn even more by extending their “eyes” beyond the visible.That’s what this new mosaic from the Solar Dynamics Observatory shows us. It represents all of SDO’s detectable wavelengths and the ions and temperatures that those wavelengths represent. Viewing each of those can tell us a deeper, richer story of the solar physics at work in and on the fusion-powered energy source that feeds our planet.

I’ve captured the false colored hues that NASA scientists assign to each and put it in a digital palette. I can’t help but feel a bit amazed at not only the extreme temperatures at play (millions of Kelvin!) but also the extreme beauty. Our Sun is the best sun.

To dig into more detail about each wavelength and what it measures, check out this NASA article.

medicinenotes: Overall Winner - Intracranial recording for epilepsy This photograph shows the surface (cortex) of a human brain belonging to an epileptic patient, displaying the arteries and veins that supply its nutrients and oxygen. This photograph was taken before an intracranial electrode recording procedure, in which a flexible electrode grid is attached to the surface of the brain. The patient is then taken to the telemetry ward, where they are observed and recorded for a period of up to two weeks. Post-observation, the surgeon reviews the recordings and evaluates the data using the unique numbers on the grid implant to identify the specific areas of the brain that need to be removed during the next operation. This patient made a full recovery and no longer suffers from epileptic fits. Credit: Robert Ludlow, UCL Institute of Neurology, London / Wellcome Images
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medicinenotes:

Overall Winner - Intracranial recording for epilepsy

This photograph shows the surface (cortex) of a human brain belonging to an epileptic patient, displaying the arteries and veins that supply its nutrients and oxygen. This photograph was taken before an intracranial electrode recording procedure, in which a flexible electrode grid is attached to the surface of the brain. The patient is then taken to the telemetry ward, where they are observed and recorded for a period of up to two weeks. Post-observation, the surgeon reviews the recordings and evaluates the data using the unique numbers on the grid implant to identify the specific areas of the brain that need to be removed during the next operation. This patient made a full recovery and no longer suffers from epileptic fits. Credit: Robert Ludlow, UCL Institute of Neurology, London / Wellcome Images