Posted on 01/15/2013 4:05:56 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Explanation: Sometimes, the Sun itself seems to dance. On just this past New Year's Eve, for example, NASA's Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamic Observatory spacecraft imaged an impressive prominence erupting from the Sun's surface. The dramatic explosion was captured in ultraviolet light in the above time lapse video covering four hours. Of particular interest is the tangled magnetic field that directs a type of solar ballet for the hot plasma as it falls back to the Sun. The scale of the disintegrating prominence is huge -- the entire Earth would easily fit under the flowing curtain of hot gas. A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a month, and may erupt in a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) expelling hot gas into the Solar System. The energy mechanism that creates a solar prominence is still a topic of research. As the Sun nears Solar Maximum this year, solar activity like eruptive prominences should be common.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO AIA Team]
Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) on YouTube, via APoD:
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...and Global Warming is humanity’s fault....yeah...big contained nuclear reaction going off in space...and we need to watch how we drive and pollute...
Women and minorities will be hit the hardest by that!
Is dat gonna mess wid mah cell phone?
Time to sue the sun.
or at least bring it up on charges.
Old Sol had a little tantrum on Hubby’s birthday, I see.
Very nice! Thank you, Mr. Civilizations.
:’)
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