An oasis along the ancient Silk Road has become a hub of solar power production in China. These images show the expansion of solar power facilities between 2006 and 2012.
This pair of images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft shows sunspots and ultraviolet light emitted by the Sun on April 29, 2009.
Our Sun experienced fewer sunspots in 2008 than it had since the 1957 launch of Sputnik. As of Sun-Earth Day on March 20, 2009, the Sun was continuing its quiet pattern.