NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) view of the Sun as spacecraft does a 360-degree roll

Periodically, the scientists tell controllers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to roll the spacecraft 360 degrees. This allows the scientists to study the responses of the instruments, and also how round the Sun is. During the roll, the spacecraft pointing is not as accurate as usual, so in addition to the expected rotation, the Sun appears to jump around in the camera’s field of view. This roll took place July 6, 2016, from 1500 to 2130 UTC.