PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in a given field. Naturally, he calls the principle the "10,000-Hour Rule." By that pseudoscientific measure, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an Einstein of solar photography.
This week, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory released its 100-millionth image of the sun, a total amassed in just under five years. The satellite uses its chief instrument, the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, to snap a shot of the sun once every 12 seconds.