Solar Corona
the Sun in NASA gold, slowly turning

What you see on every new tab

Solar Corona puts a rotating Sun on the New Tab page in the gold-on-black style of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. Nothing is a photograph: the surface, sunspots and corona are generated live, which is why it can turn all the way round at any resolution and never loop.

• The surface: domain-warped plasma that boils, fine granulation, drifting sunspot groups with dark umbrae and bright filamentary moss around them.
• Differential rotation: the equator laps the poles, as on the real Sun.
• Field lines: hundreds of closed loop arcades rooted in the active regions and open lines streaming off the poles, drawn as soft glowing ribbons and hidden where the disc occludes them.

Nothing is a video. The scene is generated live on your graphics card with WebGL, so it never loops and never looks the same twice.

What it reacts to

• Mouse: the cursor tugs the field lines toward it and heats the surface below.
• Music: bass swells the corona, mids brighten the field lines, treble sparkles the granulation, a kick fires a flare in one active region.
• Night: darkens after dusk, following the sun at your location.

Free or Pro?Pro

Ambient New Tab is free to install, with three free themes. Solar Corona is a Pro theme. Pro is a one-time $19 purchase, no subscription, and it unlocks every Pro theme, music sync, and every theme we release in the future. You can preview Solar Corona full screen before you buy: open the Themes panel and rest your mouse on it. Changed your mind? 14-day refund, no questions.

How to get it

1. Add Ambient New Tab to Chrome (or Edge, Brave, Arc, Vivaldi, Opera).
2. Open a new tab and click the Themes pill in the bottom-right corner.
3. Pick Solar Corona. Done.

Questions

Is this a real photo of the Sun?

No. It is generated in the style of SDO's 171 Å images, which is what lets it rotate continuously and stay sharp at any screen size.

Is Solar Corona free?

It is a Pro theme. Pro is a one-time $19 purchase, no subscription, that unlocks every Pro theme, music sync, and every future theme.

Is there a red version?

Yes. Zoomed Bottom Left is the same engine in the 304 Å red palette, seen close up from the corner of the screen.

Does it work on my phone?

No. It's a desktop browser extension for Chrome and Edge on Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS. If you're reading this on a phone, send yourself the link.

More themes

See every theme →