NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught an enormous plasma twister erupting on the surface of the sun Oct. 28.
The explosion was triggered by a tangled coil of magnetism that suddenly untwisted, acting like a loaded spring and hurling solar matter into space. At its peak, the twister towered more than 217,000 miles above the surface of the sun.
Luckily, the fragments of plasma flung into space were not headed toward Earth, where they could have caused a magnetic storm. Now that the twister has relaxed, it probably won’t erupt again — though other sunspots are gathering energy and could produce medium-sized solar flares.
Via spaceweather.com
Image: NASA/SDO
See Also:
- White-Light Solar Flares Finally Explained
- Video: Sun Puts on a Spectacular Eruption Show
- New Space Telescope Delivers First Mind-Blowing Video of the Sun
- Psychedelic Sunspot Video Useful for Science, Too
Follow us on Twitter @astrolisa and @wiredscience, and on Facebook.
"
No comments:
Post a Comment