Earth survived near-miss from 2012 solar storm: NASA
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2. When viewed in profile, the intricate series of looping magnetic field lines appear graceful and well designed. In fact these very hot and energetic connections emerged from beneath the surface where powerful magnetic forces are engaged in a huge tug of war. Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
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3. If you ever wanted to see an active Sun with lots of sunspots and wonderful active regions in exquisite detail, then your wait is over. We took pairs of high-resolution images from Dec. 4, 2011 about eight hours apart and with some image software magic transformed them into 3-D. The Sun appears rounded and the loops above active regions clearly stand out above the Sunâs surface. Of course, you need 3-D glasses to get the effect. The movie starts with the sunspot image, fades into the extreme ultraviolet image (in the AIA 171 wavelength of light), and then back again several times. To create the 3-D effect, we selected an initial image, then a second image about 10 hours later. The rotation of the Sun creates sufficient perspective difference to convert the pair into 3-D. Note how the magnetically intense sunspots at the surface match up precisely with loops of magnetic field lines (viewed in UV light) arcing above them. If you need 3D glasses, here are some possible resources: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stereo/sun/3D_Glasses.htmlSolar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
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4. When you put one-month videos of the Sun from periods about 2.5 years apart, the increase in solar activity is remarkable. We took video from October, 2010 and set it next to video from May, 2013 in the 171 Angstrom wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. The number and intensity of active regions, seen as brighter areas and numerous loops above them, increased dramatically as the Sun is approaching its maximum level of activity which is expected to occur either late 2013 or early 2014. Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA
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5. A corona mass ejection (CME), associated with a solar flare, blew out from just around the edge of the Sun today in a glorious roiling wave (May 1, 2013). The video, taken in extreme ultraviolet light by NASAâs Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft, covers about 2.5 hours. SOHOâs C2 and C3 coronagraphs shows a large, bright, circular cloud of particles heading out into space. STEREO spacecraft, from their different perspectives in space, observed the flare. CMEâs carry over a billion tons of particles at over a million miles per hour. Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
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6. Two CMEs (coronal mass ejections) expanded side-by-side into space in less than a day (July 1-2, 2013). The first and smaller of the two slowly emerged from the North Pole area of the Sun. The second and much larger, faster event, blossomed out to the left. Neither one was expected to have any impact on Earth. The images combine two coronagraphs from SOHO in which a disk covers the Sun to reveal the faint structures beyond it. The Sun in extreme ultraviolet light was imaged by SDO. Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
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7.One of the largest sunspot groups of this solar cycle rotated across the Sun, but was surprisingly quiet in terms of producing solar activity (July 3-11, 2013). Towards the end of the clip, the spot seems to be fading, but it still has the potential to unleash major flares. These images are called Intensitygrams, taken by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument on SDO. To give a sense of sunspot size here, a couple of Earths could stretch across the largest spot. Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
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8. Two active regions rotating into view demonstrated quite clearly that they were ready for action (Nov. 11-13, 2013). The regions, viewed in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, were spurting and flaring in a rapid-fire style as their tangled magnetic fields struggled against each other. Towards the end a prominence near the upper left erupted while a flare, seen as a white flash, burst from the leading region. Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
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9. For almost 1 1/2 hours the Moon made an appearance in NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory's view on August 6, 2013. This has happened before, but such lunar transits are always interesting to see. And they provide scientific value as well. The sharp edge of the lunar limb helps researchers measure how light diffracts around the telescope's optics and filter support grids. This allows the scientists to better calibrate their instruments for even sharper images. The Sun is imaged here in extreme ultraviolet light at 15:25:59 UT. Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
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10. Elements of a feathery solar prominence shifted and twisted before finally erupting into space as observed in extreme ultraviolet light by SDO (Aug. 14-15, 2013). The dark matter that we see in the prominence is actually part of cooler gases suspended above the Sunâs surface by powerful though unstable magnetic forces. The triggering mechanism is not well understood, but some change caused the prominence to break away from the Sun, a fairly common phenomenon. Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA
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11. +In profile, the magnetic field lines emerging from several active regions were easily observed as they reached across from one magnetic pole to another (Sept. 4-5, 2013). When viewed in extreme ultraviolet light, the tracings of charged particles along the magnetic field lines are revealed. The bright, active regions are areas of intense magnetic forces. This level of detail for the entire Sun has never been available before the SDO mission became operational. The video clip covers about 18 hours of activity. Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
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12. An eruptive prominence became unstable and blew out into space over a 5-hour period (Sept. 24, 2013). The event was observed in extreme ultraviolet light. An image taken by SOHO's C3 coronagraph some hours later shows the broadly expanding particle cloud that the event generated. In the SOHO image (blue), the Sun, represented by the white circle, is blocked by the dark blue occulting disk. Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
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