'Monster' Solar Storm Erupts On the Sun (Amazing Picture Included!)

Space.com ^ | 02/26/2011 | Space.com

[Eeyore4651]

That really is an amazing photo.

[dljordan]

“Don’t forget to slather yourself in butter first.”

Check, and maybe some parsley flakes.

[proudpapa]

You couldn’t be more wrong.

[the invisib1e hand]

The sun unleashed a powerful flare Thursday

Oh boy. That's exactly what the Titanic did just before it disappeared into the ocean.

[Right Wing Assault]

It’s not really smoke. It’s superheated gas/plasma, mostly hydrogen. It falls for one reason because the sun’s gravitational field is almost 30 times as much as earth’s. And, the ‘atmosphere’ of the sun is pretty low density, so it gives little resistance to falling matter. (If you made chemical smoke in a vacuum on earth, it would fall as fast as a brick.)

[Right Wing Assault]

Oops. I forgot the video.

http://www.space.com/10960-sun-whips-massive-flare.html

[dagogo redux]

My physics and astrophysics are several decades rusty: Doesn’t the damaging radiation from these things reach the earth at the same time as the light used to take the picture? And if that’s true, would we ever be able to know ahead of time about the one that fries civilization as we know it?

Can we know, somehow, that it’s “on it’s way,” or do we just wake up one morning and find we no longer have to see Obama’s face on our now-useless TVs?

[editor-surveyor]

>> “I could be wrong, but my take on it is that over the last few thousand years, what is taking place today is tame compared to other periods.” <<

.
From whence would come the evidence to support such a belief?

[Myrddin]

We're barely starting solar cycle 24.

[DoughtyOne]

Well, these sun spots are described in terms as if they were becoming near catastrophic. Sorry, I just don’t buy into that. Call it a gut feeling or whatever. As I stated, I may be wrong.

I didn’t provide evidence, and I did describe it as my take, not a scientific argument.

Since this seems to have offended you, why don’t you explain why.

[montag813]

HOW LONG TILL IT HITS? (AND HOPEFULLY IT WILL HIT OAKLAND)

[montag813]

If we could tap into THAT we would have an enormous new energy source.

Sorry, not green enough for Obozo unless it involves Unicorns.

[count-your-change]

Now that’s a storm!

[Crucial]

That’s one crazy view of our star. It’s really amazing to see it that close up.

[Aevery_Freeman]

Oops! My bad. Why did they put those numbers so close on the keyboard.

[Aevery_Freeman]

Charged particles from the Coronal Mass Ejection weaken the ionosphere which in turn allows the constant flux of solar radiation - the stronger than light variety - to reach the Earths surface. Nowadays that means satellites get whacked, too.

[steelyourfaith]

Thanx Fractal Trader !

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[SunkenCiv]

"This garden universe by grace complete"... thanks fanfan.

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[Scythian]

Paris says ... "That's hot"

[skeptoid]

That vid would not play. I found another here.

The original video is 16sec long. This version is from Space.com, who added the loop and background music.