Explanation:
Click the arrow and watch an unusually long filament explode out from the Sun.
The
filament had been seen hovering over the
Sun's surface for over a week before it erupted earlier
this month.
The
image sequence
was taken by the Earth-orbiting
Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in a color of
ultraviolet light specifically emitted by helium.
The explosion created
Coronal
Mass Ejections which dispersed high energy plasma into the Solar System.
This
plasma cloud, though, missed the Earth and so did not cause auroras.
The
above eruption
and an
unusually
expansive eruption that occurred in August are showing how widely separated
areas of the
Sun can sometimes act in unison.
Explosions like this will likely become more common over the next few years
as our Sun moves toward
Solar Maximum activity.
Best Astronomy Images:
APOD Editor to speak in Philadelphia on Jan 5 and New York City on Jan 7
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
