NASA has released stunning new photographs of the sun, giving a greater scientific insight to the ball of fire that affects everything on Earth.
Images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft reveal higher detail of sunspots and solar flares, as well as extreme close-ups of the massive celestial body.
"These initial images show a dynamic sun that I had never seen in more than 40 years of solar research," NASA Heliophysics director Richard Fisher said.
"This mission will have a huge impact on science."
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