On June 21, 1975, NASA successfully launched the eighth Orbiting Solar Observatory aboard a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
This satellite, the final in a series of spacecraft specifically designed to look at the Sun in high-energy wavelength bands that scientists cannot see on Earth, gathered data on energy transfer in the Sun's hot, gaseous atmosphere and its 11-year sunspot cycle. Sunspots are cooler regions that appear as dark patches in the visible surface of the Sun and are more plentiful at 11-year intervals. Flares and other powerful solar events that sometimes wreak havoc with Earth's communications systems also are associated with heightened sunspot activity. In addition to looking at the Sun, the satellite investigated celestial sources of X-rays in the Milky Way and beyond.
Our newest mission to observe our Sun, the Parker Solar Probe, is slated to launch later this year.
Image Credit: NASA
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