Geostationary
Solar Dynamics Observatory
Catalogued as SDO
Solar Observatory · NASA
Right now
LiveIt moves every second. See exactly where it is — worked out from its orbit, on your own device — on the live 3D globe.
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SDO photographs the Sun in ten wavelengths of light simultaneously, every 12 seconds, at a resolution four times sharper than HD television — producing more science data per day than any other NASA mission. This continuous stream of imagery has revealed the intricate dance of magnetic loops in the Sun's corona and let scientists track solar flares and eruptions in real time. If you've ever seen a stunning close-up video of the Sun, it almost certainly came from SDO.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Geostationaryappears to hang motionless over one spot on the equator
- Altitude
- 22,237–22,245 mi (35,787–35,800 km)
- Inclination
- 34.9°
- One orbit
- 23.9 hoursabout one orbit a day
- NORAD ID
- 36395
- Int’l designator
- 2010-005A
- Launched
- 2010
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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