The Sun exploded with a huge blast, sending solar particles millions of kilometers into space. The solar prominence eruption is the largest solar eruption ever observed in a single image together with the full solar disc.
The eruption on the far side of the Sun occurred on February 15, 2022, which is good news for us here on Earth. The active region on the Sun responsible for the blast is expected to turn toward us in the next few days.
The event was captured by several satellites.
STEREO A TO THE RESCUE: Somebody told me that STEREO A saw the huge eruption of the CME a couple of days ago. I only just checked, and it was spectacular! pic.twitter.com/TcZkXqUnly
— Keith Strong (@drkstrong) February 18, 2022
A solar prominence consists of red-glowing loops of plasma, structured by tangled magnetic field lines. An eruption of prominence occurs when a structure becomes unstable and explodes. If directed towards Earth, they can wreak havoc with our space-based technology.
There was evidence of that last week when the company lost up to 40 of their recently launched Starlink internet satellites. The solar particles made it difficult for the satellites to maintain their orbits. The atmospheric drag increased up to 50 percent higher than during previous launches due to the speed and severity of the storm.
The filament eruption seen in SUVI 304 Å images as reported by @erikapal occurred ~35° behind the east limb (per STEREO-A). This turned out to be a huge CME! This animation combines running difference images from LASCO C2 and C3, which cover 6 Rs and 30 Rs, respectively. pic.twitter.com/9QsUfNRPcC
— Halo CME (@halocme) February 16, 2022
Two comets that came close to the Sun were zapped by the Sun on February 15.
Other space missions were able to observe the event. There is a side-by-side comparison of Solar Orbiter and SOHO.
I always use Spaceweather.com to find out about solar activity and any impending events.
The video from NASA is a good explanation of solar activity.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
