SDO/SOHO: Pick of the Week (2012 Jan 27)

[bystander]

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Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Snow on the Windshield: Major Solar Particle Storm Smacks Earth

A major solar storm, marked at the Sun by an M8.7 soft X-ray flare and the eruption of a fast coronal mass ejection (CME), began early on January 23, 2012, igniting the most intense solar energetic particle storm since 2005. The expanding CME drove a shock through the solar wind, analogous to a bow wave in front of a fast moving vessel. In the shock, electrons and protons were accelerated to nearly the speed of light and appear in the video clip as streaks of light as they hit SOHO's detectors. When the shock reached Earth, CME particles spiraled down the magnetic field lines near Earth's poles and caused spectacular aurora displays in the higher latitudes. Some observers claimed it was the best display they'd seen in many years. You can watch a clip of aurora from Sweden here.

Credit: NASA/ESA/SOHO

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6771144121/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6771145877/

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http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=26815

[bystander]

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Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Geo-effective Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection - Close Up

An M8.7 (quite large) solar flare erupted from the Sun accompanied by a large coronal mass ejection (CME). The tell tale brightening of the flare early on Jan 23, 2011, was followed by a burst of particles into space, then superheated magnetic loops spun up in coils above the active region as the magnetic field began to re-organize itself. The eruption sent a stream of fast-moving, highly energetic protons toward Earth, igniting the most intense solar energetic particle storm since 2005. The fast-moving CME also was headed towards Earth where it generated wonderful displays of aurora in the higher latitudes. The video clip shows the eruption in extreme ultraviolet light and covers about nine hours of activity.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Geo-effective Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection

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