Categories: Solar Astronomy

Solar Blast Seen in Unprecedented Detail (Video)

Periodically our sun blasts streams of hot, ionized gas into the solar system. These eruptions, called coronal mass ejections or CMEs pose a potential threat to astronauts or satellites if aimed at Earth. On April 9, the Sun erupted with a CME, and because the eruption was located on the edge or limb of the sun, it was observed in unprecedented detail by a fleet of spacecraft, revealing new features that are predicted by computer models but are otherwise difficult to see, even for specialized sun-watching spacecraft. From these observations, astronomers have been able to create an animation of this spectacular event.

When a CME occurs, usually spacecraft watching the event need to protect themselves from the bright X-ray solar flare associate with a CME. However, since the April 9 CME occurred on the edge or limb of the Sun as viewed from Earth, the solar flare was hidden from view, which allowed spacecraft to take longer exposures and uncover fainter structures than usual.

“Observations like this are very rare,” said Smithsonian astronomer Ed DeLuca.

Using the Smithsonian-developed X-ray Telescope (XRT) aboard the Japanese Hinode sun-watching satellite, astronomers saw a spiral (helical) magnetic structure unwind as it left the Sun during the CME. Such unwinding can release energy as the magnetic field goes from a more twisted to a less twisted configuration, thereby helping to power the eruption.

Hours later, XRT revealed an inflow of material toward a feature that appears as a bright line—actually an object known as a current sheet seen edge-on. A current sheet is a thin, electrified sheet of gas where oppositely directed magnetic field lines annihilate one another in a process known as magnetic reconnection. The extended observations from XRT show that magnetic fields flow in toward the current sheet for many hours after the eruption, progressing first toward the sheet and then down to the sun’s surface.

The astronomers were able to create an animation of the event.

They also determined that the temperature of the current sheet is between 5 and 18 million degrees Fahrenheit, which matches previous measurements higher up in the corona by the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer on the SOHO spacecraft.

Astronomers study these explosions in hope of being able to predict them and provide “space weather” forecasts.

Original News Source: Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/

Recent Posts

The Last Arecibo Message Celebrates the Observatory and One of its Greatest Accomplishments

The Arecibo Message, transmitted on November 16th, 1974, from the Arecibo Observatory, was humanity's first…

6 hours ago

A Nearby Supernova Could Finally Reveal Mark Matter

Despite 90 years of research, the nature and influence of Dark Matter continue to elude…

6 hours ago

Astronomers Find a 3 Million Year Old Planet

Astronomers have just found one of the youngest planets ever. At only 3 million years…

1 day ago

There was Hot Water on Mars 4.45 Billion Years Ago

Mars formed 4.5 billion years ago, roughly the same time as the Earth. We know…

1 day ago

Axion Dark Matter May Make Spacetime Ring

Dark matter made out of axions may have the power to make space-time ring like…

2 days ago

Earth’s Old Trees Keep A Record of Powerful Solar Storms

Most of the time the Sun is pretty well-mannered, but occasionally it's downright unruly. It…

2 days ago