Solar Dynamics Observatory

Launched on February 11 of this year, and only recently returning images, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has started returning some spectucular images of the Sun.  The Sun has an 11 year cycle of magnetic activity which is reflected in the sunspot cycle.  We're now moving into a sunspot maxima over the next few years and it will be the most intensely-studied one yet - we're going to learn a lot more about how the Sun works.

A multispectral image of the Sun - it's not just a featureless orange ball.