Posted on 10/28/2022 11:25:20 AM PDT by Red Badger
The smiling Sun. (NASA Sun/Twitter) Sometimes an unexpected smile is all it takes to turn your day around. Well, that kind of cheery surprise doesn't get much bigger than this.
Astronomers at NASA have spotted the Sun beaming a remarkable, joyous grin, in a sunny spectacle destined to put a smile on your dial.
As shared on NASA's Sun Twitter account, this incredible image reveals the Sun looking positively radiant in more ways than one.
Of course, the 'smile' we see here isn't actually a real smile. What we're looking at are coronal holes (the dark patches), where fast bursts of solar wind gush out into space, as NASA explains.
Sun Caught Smiling The Sun caught smiling. (NASA Sun/Twitter) It just so happens – amidst all the crazy solar fluctuations the Sun tends to exhibit – that two of these coronal holes kind of look like twinkling eyes, while a third uncannily resembles an exuberant smile.
What's really going on here is the phenomenon of pareidolia, where we imagine seeing things like faces in random patterns.
It's a trick of the mind, only this time it's being played out on a stupendous, Sun-sized scale.
As some keen-eyed Twitter users have observed, the Sun's visage here doesn't only look like a smiling face.
The particular proportions of that exultant grin bear a striking similarity to the facial configuration of a certain legendary villain of Ghostbusters lore: the Stay Puft marshmallow man.
Yes, it really is quite the coincidence.
The phrase 'separated at birth' even springs to mind, even if it's just another example of people seeing something that isn't really there.
But even if this is just a meaningless, random confluence of mysterious solar physics, that doesn't mean we shouldn't get a laugh out of it.
So enjoy! And always try to look for the positives in life wherever you can.
Let the Sun be your shining example.
He’s actually laughing at us thinking we can control him!
When the orange man smiles.....
the original “Smiley Face”.
Just before it blasts a CEM our way no doubt...
Or a Charlie Chaplin mustache.
It’s as if adults have become goofy little children...Very odd.
That is cute.
OH Happy Day...
But still, don't let the Sun catch *you* smiling.
Perhaps the biggest smile you will ever see. Almost like an ad for the Hitchhikers guide to the Universe.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.