SOHO: Pick of the Week (2012 Mar 30)

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bystander
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SOHO: Pick of the Week (2012 Mar 30)

Post by bystander » Fri Mar 30, 2012 7:08 pm


Click to play embedded YouTube video.
Five for Five

The Sun blew out at least five halo coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and several others over a five-day period (Mar. 24-29, 2012). SOHO's C3 coronagraph observed the action. Halo CMEs are ejections whose leading edge appears to spread out from the Sun in a kind of circle (i.e., halo), which indicates that the expanding cloud of particles is heading either directly towards or away from Earth. Most of the events were from the far side of the Sun, except for the two close together early on Mar. 27. This dynamic level of activity is in line with expectations that we are approaching solar maximum.

Credit: NASA/ESA/SOHO
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