Scientists have observed a rare solar tsunami on the sun’s surface, with the help of the Japanese satellite Hinode. The spacecraft is one of two satellites that have been studying the sun using ultraviolet light to detect and track the movement of the sun’s "waves" through their telescopes. 

 

Hinode revealed the ultraviolet light given off from the wave, allowing the team to calculate its speed as 620 miles per second, as well as estimate its temperature of more than one million degrees.

 

Hinode has been in orbit since 2006 and NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) joined the satellite in 2010.