Post by wiccanvixen on Dec 7, 2010 21:11:18 GMT -5
A massive solar storm erupted from the sun Monday, creating a huge tendril of plasma that stretched across the face of the star.
The giant solar
eruption created a long filament of magnetic plasma, which extended an astounding 435,000 miles (700,000 kilometers) -- nearly twice the distance between the Earth and the moon -- across the sun's southeastern region, according to the website Spaceweather.com, which monitors solar storms and sky events.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught a stunning snapshot of the monster sun storm early Monday morning. [Photo of the huge solar filament]
"The massive structure is an easy target for backyard
telescopes (monitoring is encouraged) and it has the potential for an impressive eruption if it happens to collapse in the hours or days ahead," Spaceweather.com reported in an update. The website described the solar prominence as a "mega-filament."
Skywatchers should never look directly at the sun with their unaided eyes or through a telescope. Permanent eye damage can result. Instead, proper telescope filters or protective glasses from reputable astronomy dealers should be used for solar observations.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory snapped this X-ray photo of the Sun early in the morning of Sunday, August 1st. The dark arc near the top right edge of the image is a filament of plasma blasting off the surface -- part of the coronal mass ejection. The bright region is an unassociated solar flare. slideshow
Eruptions on the sun's surface can blast tons of plasma into space -- sometimes right at the Earth. Astonishing new pictures from NASA show the giant flares and clouds of ionized gas erupting from the star.
slideshow
With the sun sending a burning tendril of plasma across space this week (missed us!), we take a look at some of the ways Hollywood thinks its all going to end.
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But amateur astronomers
with the right equipment to safely observe the sun should act fast. The large solar filament won't last forever.
"So far the massive structure has hovered quietly above the stellar surface, but now it is showing signs of instability," Spaceweather.com reporter. "Long filaments like this one have been known to collapse with explosive results when they hit the stellar surface below."
The sun is in the midst of an extremely active period of its 11-year solar weather cycle after a long lull in activity.
This latest solar filament follows on the heels of a similar prominent sun eruption last month. That earlier solar filament was spotted on Nov. 16 and stretched across just over 372,800 miles (600,000 km), making it a shorter than the new filament spotted today.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory and several other spacecraft keep constant watch on the sun to track solar weather activity.
Copyright © 2010 Space.com. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read more: www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/07/plasma-storm-erupts-sun/#ixzz17TxTdcXC
The giant solar
eruption created a long filament of magnetic plasma, which extended an astounding 435,000 miles (700,000 kilometers) -- nearly twice the distance between the Earth and the moon -- across the sun's southeastern region, according to the website Spaceweather.com, which monitors solar storms and sky events.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught a stunning snapshot of the monster sun storm early Monday morning. [Photo of the huge solar filament]
"The massive structure is an easy target for backyard
telescopes (monitoring is encouraged) and it has the potential for an impressive eruption if it happens to collapse in the hours or days ahead," Spaceweather.com reported in an update. The website described the solar prominence as a "mega-filament."
Skywatchers should never look directly at the sun with their unaided eyes or through a telescope. Permanent eye damage can result. Instead, proper telescope filters or protective glasses from reputable astronomy dealers should be used for solar observations.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory snapped this X-ray photo of the Sun early in the morning of Sunday, August 1st. The dark arc near the top right edge of the image is a filament of plasma blasting off the surface -- part of the coronal mass ejection. The bright region is an unassociated solar flare. slideshow
Eruptions on the sun's surface can blast tons of plasma into space -- sometimes right at the Earth. Astonishing new pictures from NASA show the giant flares and clouds of ionized gas erupting from the star.
slideshow
With the sun sending a burning tendril of plasma across space this week (missed us!), we take a look at some of the ways Hollywood thinks its all going to end.
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN
Tom Brady, Patriots Rout Jets 45-3 in Monday Night Massacre
AT&T Worst-Rated U.S. Carrier, Consumer Reports Says
U.S. Warns WikiLeaks Giving Hit List to Terrorists
Socialism: Rearing its Ugly Head Again
Politicians Who Own Stakes in Airport Scanner Companies
But amateur astronomers
with the right equipment to safely observe the sun should act fast. The large solar filament won't last forever.
"So far the massive structure has hovered quietly above the stellar surface, but now it is showing signs of instability," Spaceweather.com reporter. "Long filaments like this one have been known to collapse with explosive results when they hit the stellar surface below."
The sun is in the midst of an extremely active period of its 11-year solar weather cycle after a long lull in activity.
This latest solar filament follows on the heels of a similar prominent sun eruption last month. That earlier solar filament was spotted on Nov. 16 and stretched across just over 372,800 miles (600,000 km), making it a shorter than the new filament spotted today.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory and several other spacecraft keep constant watch on the sun to track solar weather activity.
Copyright © 2010 Space.com. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Read more: www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/07/plasma-storm-erupts-sun/#ixzz17TxTdcXC
