'The Sun as Art' Brings New Light to SOHO Images

The marbled Sun The extreme ultraviolet images (from 3 different imagers) come to Earth from the SOHO spacecraft. Each were each given a color codes and digitally merged into one.

Solar eruptions and magnetic fields are not typically associated with artistic inspiration, but a NASA project is using these phenomena to give people a more creative awareness of the Sun's volatile nature.

Steele Hill, an image and video specialist at Goddard, for the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, has created 'The Sun As Art,' a visually stunning and whimsical introduction to the workings of our closest star.

Over the past six months, Hill selected images from various SOHO instruments and transformed them into imaginative portraits of solar activity. In the past, with Hill's assistance, SOHO images have been featured on the cover of rock albums and on skateboards as well as in various traditional publications, fulfilling Hill's goal of arousing public interest in the Sun and SOHO discoveries. 'The Sun As Art' just finished a showing at the NASA Goddard Visitor's Center and is a permanent addition to the NASA website; several images from the series have been picked up by Spaceflight Magazine for a feature article.

For the complete article on the SOHO portraits, visit:
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/news-release/releases/2002/02-140.htm
'The Sun As Art' as well as other images and video clips can be viewed online at the following URL: http://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/hotshots/2002_08_29/