"The data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observer (SDO) probe was used here to show the Sun’s inner corona in a way that hints at a process that is similar to that which energises colourful neon lights on Earth.

Images taken by the SDO in the ultraviolet spectrum (at 171, 193 and 304 nm) were re-mapped to a more vibrant palette, with the same coronal data turned ‘inside out’ to surround the Sun, creating the illusion of it being enclosed in a neon tube.

While neon tubes use electrical current to cause the low-pressure gas within them to glow, it is the heat from nuclear fusion that ionises the gas of the Sun’s atmosphere. While this ultraviolet light is undetectable to human eyes, it can easily cause sunburn on unprotected human skin within just few minutes of exposure.

Remapped in Photoshop, the data was then polar inversed to mirror the inner coronal image. Colour saturation was increased by around 30 per cent and given one pass of a noise reduction filter."