Astronomy Picture of the Day -- The Sun Unleashed

NASA ^ | June 10, 2011 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: On June 7, the Sun unleashed only a medium sized solar flare as rotation carried active regions of sunpots toward the solar limb. But that flare was followed by an astounding gush of magnetized plasma seen erupting at the Sun's edge in this extreme ultraviolet image from the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Spectacular movies of the event follow the darker, cooler plasma over a period of hours as it rains down across a broad area of the Sun's surface, arcing along otherwise invisible magnetic field lines. An associated coronal mass ejection, a massive cloud of high energy particles, was blasted in the general direction of the Earth and may have already triggered auroral activity after a glancing blow to Earth's magnetosphere.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit: NASA / Goddard / SDO AIA Team]

[SunkenCiv]

join or quit list APoD 'blog post new APoD topic Astronomy Picture of the Day topic & keyword Astronomy Chat, Bloggers & keyword Science Chat, Bloggers & keyword NASA's APoD archive Calendar 1995-present APoD on your desktop

[left that other site]

That’s SO HOT!
:-)

[Explorer89]

Here is a video of the event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_3u_0NN7OM&feature=share

[Colonel_Flagg]

Bush’s fault.

Wow!

[JoeProBono]

[momtothree]

Amazing picture! One can certainly see “force” in the picture. It is amazing!

[Robert Drobot]

Starship meltdown !!! Kirk and crew - gone !!!

[no-to-illegals]

Has the EPA, any scientist, or alGore asked for the space firetrucks to be launched to put this Sun (thingy) out? ah, forget I asked. Don't want to give them any ideas.

Great Photos, btw.

[bmwcyle]

Pug the hole with liberals.

[TheOldLady]

Mr. Sunshine got a little cranky on June 7.

I know the feeling.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!

[SunkenCiv]

---

---

[bmwcyle]

Real Global Warming