NASA and ESA have released some absolutely amazing new images of the surface of the Sun, taken by the Japanese Hinode spacecraft (formerly known as Solar-B). For the first time, astronomers are able to see how tiny granules of hot gas rise and fall, caught up in the Sun’s magnetic atmosphere. They’re able to watch how magnetic variations start out, and then spread across the surface.
The photographs are beautiful, but what will really blow your mind are the videos.