Under any other circumstances, this gorgeous high-resolution and lushly-colored image of the Sun's surface would have easily made my Top 14 list, but was edged out by an even more phenomenal shot of our nearest star.

Still, this is a spectacular and eerie shot: taken at a wavelength of light that picks out calcium in the Sun, you can see long ribbons of plasma, bright where they've just risen from below the surface (still hot from being deeper in the Sun) and darker where they are about to sink. You can also see a sunspot on the lower right, looking, ironically, a bit like a sunflower. Bear in mind though that the entire Earth could be engulfed in that spot!

Get the hi-res version here.

Image credit: National Solar Observatory/Dunn Solar Telescope/IBIS/Kevin Reardon