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Credit: Solar Optical Telescope,
Hinode Satellite,
JAXA
Explanation:
Plumes of hot gas shoot across the surface on even an average day on the Sun.
Such volatile activity was captured in dramatic detail recently by the new
Hinode satellite launched by
Japan in late September.
Near the horizon,
active regions around a
sunspot eject hot
plasma along the
magnetic field
lines that connect the sunspot to surrounding regions in the
solar atmosphere.
Bright regions are hotter and more active.
The bubbling granularity and continuous activity of the Sun's
photosphere is visible in the foreground.
The
above movie
in representative color covers a
solar region of 8,000 kilometers.
On some computers, the above
MPG movie
will only play correctly after a player is downloaded,
movie downloading is complete, and the page is refreshed.
The raw MPG movie file is available
here.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Sun - flare
Publications with words: Sun - flare
See also: