NASA sees Sun having a solar blast

The CME should deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field during the late hours of June 8th or June 9th.

By NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland — Published: June 7, 2011

Coronal Mass Ejection as viewed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory on June 7, 2011.

Photo by NASA/SDO

The Sun unleashed an M-2 (medium-sized) solar flare, an S1-class (minor) radiation storm and a spectacular coronal mass ejection (CME) on June 7, 2011, from sunspot complex 1226-1227. The large cloud of particles mushroomed up and fell back down looking as if it covered an area of almost half the solar surface.

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observed the flare's peak at 1:41 a.m. EDT (06:41 UTC). SDO recorded these images (above) in extreme ultraviolet light that show a very large eruption of cool gas. It is somewhat unique because at many places in the eruption there seems to be even cooler material -- at temperatures less than 80,000 K.

The CME should deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field during the late hours of June 8th or June 9th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras when the CME arrives.

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GENE INSCO from FLORIDA said:

That was so cool,or I should say so Hot

Submitted: 7/18/2011 8:34:49 PM (CST)

KESHA PATEL from CALIFORNIA said:

im glad that nothing happened to the earth

Submitted: 7/15/2011 9:05:07 PM (CST)

CASE DEKKER SR said:

Video and article unbelievable and this is a medium flare just think what a giant flare would look like ,great stuff NASA and thank Astronomy magazine for showing it

Submitted: 6/13/2011 3:22:42 PM (CST)

JOSEPH T MCCAWLEY from MASSACHUSETTS said:

Glad we slipped that punch! There's a lot more of this Solar Cycle to go so look out!

Submitted: 6/11/2011 11:48:30 AM (CST)

BILL SIMPSON from LOUISIANA said:

Ponder what will happen when a large CME like that shuts down the power grid up there (I'll be fine way down here in Slidell at 30 degrees) and the nuclear power plants run out of diesel fuel to run the cooling pumps for the reactors. How long do you think it will take before the diesel tanks run dry? And with the grid down, the refineries will be down too. It WILL eventually happen. They should build massive diesel storage tanks at every nuclear power plant and shield all the electronics. They thought Fukishima was fine too, until Murphy's Law struck. It always does. I just wrote the NRC so they can't say 'we never thought of that'.

Submitted: 6/11/2011 3:36:03 AM (CST)

SANDY RENCKEN SR said:

something so magnificent - awsome!!! indescribeable!! we are so fortunate to see something so spectacular like that in our universe!!

Submitted: 6/11/2011 2:59:18 AM (CST)

DAVID RYAN from ARIZONA said:

Awesome

Submitted: 6/10/2011 11:06:45 PM (CST)

BENITO LOPEZ-COVARRUBIAS SR from ILLINOIS said:

Recently I sow at the NASA Web the exactly moment when was created the second line of a magnetic storm below of the large magnetic storm, and I think that the tow magnetics storms could create the big solar flare.

Submitted: 6/10/2011 8:06:57 PM (CST)

BARRY JAQUITH said:

Thousands of Earths could fit inside this coronal mass ejection.Makes you think don,t it.Imagine one like this on Rigel or Eta Carinae.

Submitted: 6/10/2011 8:03:22 PM (CST)

WILLIAM STANGLIN from CALIFORNIA said:

WOW!

Submitted: 6/10/2011 3:51:03 PM (CST)

	Mercury	Mercury	Venus	Venus
RISE	—		—
SET	—		—
		—		—