Astronomy Picture of the Day - Solar X Flare as Famous Active Region Returns

NASA ^ | 28 May, 2024 | Video Credit: NASA, Solar Dynamics Observatory

[MtnClimber]

Explanation: It's back. The famous active region on the Sun that created auroras visible around the Earth earlier this month has survived its rotation around the far side of the Sun -- and returned. Yesterday, as it was beginning to reappear on the Earth-facing side, the region formerly labeled AR 3664 threw another major solar flare, again in the highest-energy X-class range. The featured video shows the emerging active region on the lower left, as it was captured by NASA's Earth-orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory yesterday in ultraviolet light. The video is a time-lapse of the entire Sun rotating over 24 hours. Watch the lower-left region carefully at about the 2-second mark to see the powerful flare burst out. The energetic particles from that flare and associated CME are not expected to directly impact the Earth and trigger impressive auroras, but scientists will keep a close watch on this unusually active region over the next two weeks, as it faces the Earth, to see what develops.

[MtnClimber]

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Today's image is a video clip at the source link.

[MtnClimber]

Pinging the APOD list

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔 Today's image is a video clip at the source link.

[spankalib]

To think - those flares are @ 50X the size of earth.

Yuge

[spankalib]

...or, we’re so tiny!

[metmom]

More auroras possible?

[Magnum44]

Nothing expected tonight but keep an eye on this sight in the coming days.

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental

[Magnum44]

See 6

[metmom]

I certainly will.

Thanks.

[Repeal The 17th]

Measured at its equator,
our sun rotates on its axis once
about every 25 Earth days.

[ifinnegan]

Does this mean auroras will be visible again?

[Magnum44]

Does this mean auroras will be visible again?

[ComputerGuy]

That’s a great link. You done good.

[Steely Tom]

Yes! Weather here has been chaotic today.

[1FreeAmerican]

That was seriously cool!

Thanks Climber!

[Paladin2]

The Sun

Can’t live with it, can’t live without it.

[MtnClimber]

Does this mean auroras will be visible again?

If it has a large coronal mass ejection when facing Earth. We will have to see what it does in about a week.

[metmom]

Well, there are a few fairly clear days in the forecast for the rest of the week. Thursday and Friday are looking pretty good for CNY.

We’re going to be up to our cottage in CNY for the next few days.

[ifinnegan]

Thanks.

[Paul R.]

An interesting image, if NASA has good enough detail for such to look good, would be this flare occupying almost all of 4000 x 3000 pixels. 15 to 20 degrees of Sun surface? Then superimpose the Earth to scale, beside the flare, near the Sun’s surface...

[spankalib]

I actually did find a size-comparison, but my pic-posting skillz are sorely lacking. It was too big, & I haven't figured out how to size it down.

My basic template to post the image address btwn the 2 quote marks:
< img src="" >< /img >