GREENBELT, Md., Feb. 3, 2015 — (PRNewswire) — Media are invited to the opening of an innovative digital art installation called Solarium on Feb. 11, 2015, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The exhibit will be open to media from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST. Remarks from the artist and NASA scientists will be at 2 p.m. EST.

Solarium immerses the viewer directly in imagery from the sun's dynamic and explosive atmosphere. Spectacular footage runs from the floor to ceiling. Giant loops of solar material swell up over the sun's surface, and eruptions of material five, 10 and 50 times the size of Earth explode out into space.

The opening of Solarium coincides with the fifth anniversary of the launch of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO. Solarium uses data from SDO, which has kept a constant watch on the sun since Feb. 11, 2010. This data is publicly available and used by scientists to trace how material courses through layers of the solar atmosphere, called the corona, sometimes catalyzing eruptions that can travel toward Earth and affect our orbiting spacecraft, power grids and other technology.

The creators of Solarium adjusted SDO imagery to elicit a calming, soothing and mesmerizing experience. Each minute of footage is the result of 10 hours of work. The imagery was then paired with audio created at Stanford University in California, with the end result being a truly immersive work of art. Solarium will be a permanent exhibit at the NASA Goddard Visitor Center.

Interview opportunities for news media will be offered. Journalists who would like to attend the event should contact Susan Hendrix by the close of business on Feb. 9. Detailed instructions will be provided to media attending this event.

SDO is the first mission of NASA's Living with a Star Program. The program's goal is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the sun-Earth system that directly affect our lives and society.

For more information about Solarium, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/solarium

For more information about SDO, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/SDO

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SOURCE NASA

Contact:

NASA Susan Hendrix, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, 301-286-7745 Email Contact Web: http://www.nasa.gov