SDO Off-Point during the Parker Solar Probe Perihelion

From 2100 UTC (5:00 pm ET) on April 28, 2021, to 1100 UTC (7:00 am ET) on April 29, 2021, SDO will off-point from the center of the Sun. This will support the PSP perihelion passage at 0900 UTC, April 29, 2021.

This is an opportunity for you to examine the middle corona that is not normally seen in the AIA field-of view. The exposure time will be increased, there will be fewer AIA images, and lossless compression will be used to download the images. That means you will be able to bring out details in the middle corona by co-adding frames.

SDO Mission Website Update - October 1, 2013

Due to the government shutdown, information and data presented on this website may not be up to date. For information about available government services, visit USA.gov. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

How long will it take SDO to complete its mission?

Although it is difficult to determine exactly when the SDO mission will end, we know it will be around for at least another decade.  Once the mission has ended, we will use SDO’s thrusters to move it several hundred miles higher in altitude into a collision-free zone; this is important because we don’t want it to collide with any active satellites and cause them damage.  Once SDO is moved out of its orbit we will turn it off...but luckily that is not going to happen for several more years!  (Fun fact: SDO has enough fuel to keep it in orbit for several hundred years!)

Where is SDO now? Check out its current operations information .