Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.   SUBSCRIBE
The Kid Should See This

The sun, our closest star, in a stunning 4K time lapse animation

Watch more with these video collections:

Compiling 17,000 images captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), via Helioviewer, from October 14-30, 2014, James Tyrwhitt-Drake created a stunning 4K time lapse animation. Watch 16 of our days rotate by in almost eight minutes, or 52.5 minutes per second.

Here’s a closer look at sunspot Active Region 12192 (AR 2192), which starts on the right and rotates left. “A diameter of 111,847 miles, or 14 times the width of the Earth,” it’s the largest sunspot since 1990, two solar cycles ago, and the 33rd largest observed since 1874.


These are videos that really demand a change of pace, slowing us down to observe the rotation, the incredible flare behavior (six X-class and four M-class solar flares from AR 2192 alone), and the flow patterns across the surface.

October 2015 update from NASA: Thanks to data captured by SDO, we now have a spectacular 30 minute, Ultra-HD (4K) video of the sun. Full screen!

In the archives, more solar eye candy from SDO, including year 4 highlights from SDO and Jewel Box Sun, as well as the tech behind watching space weather: Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory reveals the entire Sun.

h/t Kottke.

This Webby award-winning video collection exists to help teachers, librarians, and families spark kid wonder and curiosity. TKSST features smarter, more meaningful content than what's usually served up by YouTube's algorithms, and amplifies the creators who make that content.

Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.

🌈 Watch these videos next...

Why does NASA observe the sun in different colors?

Rion Nakaya

Venus crossing in front of the sun, via NASA SDO

Rion Nakaya

Understanding the Magnetic Sun – NASA Goddard

Rion Nakaya

The science of solar eclipses: How do solar & lunar eclipses work?

Rion Nakaya

The entire sun in STEREO – Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory

Rion Nakaya

Stunning Views of Earth From the International Space Station

Rion Nakaya

Stunning Aurora Borealis from Space in Ultra-HD 4K

Rion Nakaya

Solar Eclipse 2015: BBC Stargazing Live Video

Rion Nakaya

Slingshots of the Oceanic: The genius of ancient Pacific mariners

Rion Nakaya