NASA launched its Solar Dynamics Observatory on Thursday morning after a one day delay due to high winds.

An unmanned Atlas rocket carried the SDO into space at 10:30 EST, which is designed to acquire detailed images of our star to explain variation in its activity.

It's the most advanced probe ever built to study the sun. Scientists want to better understand the violent solar activity that causes communication and power disruptions on Earth.

SDO will unlock the processes inside the sun, on the sun's surface, and in its corona that result in solar variability, NASA said.

An active Sun can disrupt satellite, communication, and power systems on earth. With the new lab, scientists will learn if they can better forecast space weather.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory will assist this drive by investigating the physics at work inside, on the surface and in the atmosphere of the Sun.

NASA put off the launch for an hour on Wednesday, hoping the strong winds would ease.

But the rocket's systems sensed a wind overload and shut down, with just three minutes and 59 seconds left in the countdown.

NASA Sun