NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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SDO captured this nicely rounded prominence eruption from March 19, 2011 as a prominence became unstable and erupted into space with a distinct twisting motion. Prominences are elongated clouds of plasma that hover above the Sun's surface, tethered by magnetic forces. Credit: NASA/SDO

VOTING ENDS THURSDAY, MAY 5 AT MIDNIGHT!

April 21, 2011 marks the one-year anniversary of when the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured its first images, an event referred to for all telescopes as "first light".

In the last year, the sun has gone from one of its most dormant periods in years to strong activity. SDO has captured every moment with a level of detail never-before possible. The mission has returned unprecedented images of solar flares, giant loops called prominence eruptions, and the early stages of coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

We would like you to vote for your favorite video from a collection that spans SDO's first year of science observations. But don't wait! The voting closes on May 5, 2011.

› Go Vote!!!

Related Links

› View The SDO One Year video

Scott Wiessinger/Holly Zell
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center