It appears our native star is taking the “solar is smiling down on us” phrase actually. NASA’s Photo voltaic Dynamics Observatory snapped a portrait of the solar on Wednesday that makes it appear to be it has two darkish eyes, a swirling spherical nostril and a cheerful little smile.

“Say cheese!” NASA tweeted together with the eye-catching picture.

There is a science clarification behind the smile. “At the moment, NASA’s Photo voltaic Dynamics Observatory caught the solar ‘smiling,'” NASA mentioned. “Seen in ultraviolet mild, these darkish patches on the solar are often called coronal holes and are areas the place quick photo voltaic wind gushes out into area.”  

SDO launched in 2010 and has been hanging out in area and maintaining a tally of the solar’s actions ever since. It is used to check area climate and observe the star’s flares and outbursts.

Twitter customers noticed the solar picture and have been fast to identify a resemblance to the Keep Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.

The Science and Expertise Amenities Council within the UK jumped in with a reworked model of the picture that turns it into a cheerful Halloween pumpkin. 

You would possibly recall one other fortuitous SDO picture from 2014 when the solar sported a really Halloween-y jack-o’-lantern face. The more moderen face-like form is extra derpy and fewer spooky. 

It is good to think about our native star as blissful and benevolent, despite the fact that it likes to spit out doubtlessly disruptive photo voltaic flares on occasion. Service with a smile.