SOHO: Pick of the Week (2012 Mar 23)

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SOHO: Pick of the Week (2012 Mar 23)

Post by bystander » Wed Mar 28, 2012 2:04 pm


Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Flares and More Flares (2012 Mar 23)

Over the course of three days (Mar. 5-7, 2012), a single, large active region blasted out over a dozen solar flares. STEREO (Behind) spacecraft caught the action in extreme UV light. Saving the best for last, it erupted with an X5 flare (X is the largest category) and a storm of charged particles as part of a coronal mass ejection. We'll be tracking this region around the far side of the Sun with STEREO and be ready if the Sun's rotation carries the existing activity back into view around March 28th. The particles near the end of the clip look like a mass of squiggling amoeba, a distortion caused by STEREO’s image processing. And note, a large prominence dancing above the edge of the Sun adds a nice touch to the video.

Credit: NASA/ESA/STEREO
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