Starship Asterisk*

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Global Eruption

On August 1, 2010 a whole connected series of events erupted across the Sun. Filaments of magnetism snapped and exploded, shock waves raced across much of the Sun's surface. In a new paper two scientists from Lockheed Martin's Solar and Astrophysics Lab in Palo Alto, CA, offered their findings at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco (Dec. 13, 2010). They studied the events in numerous wavelengths from SDO and views from STEREO mission that allowed them to view almost the entire Sun. The first movies and stills shown here provide an example of the events in just one wavelength. Another movie shows the events in a composite of three wavelengths.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

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Filament Eruption

A very long solar filament that had been snaking around the Sun erupted today (Dec. 6, 2010) with a flourish. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) caught the action in dramatic detail in extreme ultraviolet light of Helium. It had been almost a million km long ((about half a solar radius) and a prominent feature on the Sun visible over two weeks ago before it rotated out of view. Filaments are elongated clouds of cooler gases suspended above the Sun by magnetic forces. They are rather unstable and often break away from the Sun. Note: the edge of the moon can be glimpsed at 0300 UT during a brief lunar transit.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

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Arcing Loops

Arcing loops above an active region put on a slinky-like show for SDO, evidence of the dynamic, magnetic struggles taking place below (Nov. 28-30, 2010). Particles spiraling along magnetic field lines trace their paths as they gracefully shift and change. Magnetic forces in the active region are connecting, breaking apart, and reconnecting. Another active region that rotates into view about halfway through the video clip exhibits similar behavior. These frames were taken in extreme ultraviolet light. The smooth motion of the video is made possible by using an image every five minutes (which is just one out of every 60 images taken in five minutes by SDO in this wavelength).

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

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Snaking Filament

An elongated filament slithered, stretched and curled around the edge of the Sun as SDO watched in extreme ultraviolet light (Nov. 16-18, 2010). At one point it seems to break in two, but then it re-establishes its continuity. A second filament appears in the left part of the video clip and still too, though it is not as large or active. Filaments are relatively unstable clouds of cooler gases suspended above the Sun by magnetic forces. Sometimes they erupt and burst into space; other times they just fade away. Keep an eye on this one!

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

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Flashing Flares

A wide and vigorous active region produced several flares as SDO observed in extreme ultraviolet light (Nov. 11-12, 2010). The tangle of magnetic field lines, made visible by particles spinning along them, connected and reconnected several times. Since the active region is facing towards Earth, it may produce geo-effective events in upcoming days.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

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Swirling Plasma

A dynamic swirling mass of plasma kept spinning above the Sun's surface for over two days (Oct. 27-28, 2010) as SDO observed the action in extreme ultraviolet light. Not to be outdone, a shorter-lived prominence rose up and blew away into space near the upper left edge of the Sun. Together, they make a nice combination of activity on the ever-changing Sun.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

Swirling Plasma (QT)
Swirling Plasma (MPEG)

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Merging Sunspots

One core area of Sunspot 1117 emerged, and then edged over and merged with another core area over three days (Oct. 25-27, 2010) to form a much larger, active sunspot region. Portions of sunspot groups can shift over time. Each dark umbra (darkest area) in the October 26 snapshot from the HMI instrument on SDO is as wide as Earth. The magnetic field of this area has been creating a number of small (B- and C-class) solar flares, though no large flares have erupted there to date. Sunspots are cooler, darker areas on the Sun's surface where energy and light are suppressed by intense magnetic forces.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

Spot Change (QT)
Spot Change (MPEG)

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Sun and Moon

This was a first for SDO and it was visually engaging too. On October 7, 2010, SDO observed its first lunar transit when the new Moon passed directly between the spacecraft (in its geosynchronous orbit) and the Sun. With SDO watching the Sun in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, the dark Moon created a partial eclipse of the Sun.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

Moon Transit of Sun (QT)

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Finely Spun Prominence Eruption

This eruptive prominence lifted off from the Sun (Sept. 15, 2010) and shows off the strands of plasma in exquisite detail. SDO caught the action in extreme ultraviolet light. Prominences are cooler clouds of gases suspended above the Sun by often unstable magnetic forces. Their eruptions are fairly common, but this one was larger and clearer to see than most.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

Prominence Eruption QT(HD) Movie
Prominence Eruption Mpeg Movie

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A Swirling Maelstrom

Swirling plasma observed in extreme ultraviolet light put on quite a show over 4.5 days (Sept. 18-22, 2010). The twisting strands of plasma, seen in profile over the Sun upper left edge, kept up its dynamic activity the whole period. In addition, four prominence eruptions occurred during the same period. The slight, occasional jumps of the Sun were due to the daily orbital passage of the spacecraft these days behind the Earth for a short period each day. It took the imaging a little time to get back to normal each passage.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

Swirling Maelstrom QT Movie

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The South Rises Again

SDO watched as an active region in the Sun's southern hemisphere produced a whole series of looping arcs of plasma in profile (Sept. 11-13, 2010). The arcs are actually charged particles spiraling along magnetic field lines. The images were taken in extreme ultraviolet light and reveal the dynamic activity visible above active regions. The material seen here is ionized iron heated to about one million degrees. We have seen very little activity in this hemisphere as opposed to the northern one, hence the tongue in cheek title.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

Loop Profile QT Video

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Arched Eruption

SDO caught a minor flare and a coronal mass ejection (CME) in profile as they blasted out from the Sun, producing a prominence that rose up and out in a curving arch (Sept. 8, 2010). The particle cloud was not aimed at Earth, so it could not produce geomagnetic effects on Earth. The stills show the arch in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet (UV) light. The movie combines three wavelengths of extreme UV light and covers three hours of activity.

Arched Eruption 3 Color Movie (QT)

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Three Rotations, Three Temperatures

Solar images in three different wavelengths in extreme ultraviolet light are combined together to show solar activity over almost three months (June 2 - Aug. 26, 2010). Each wavelength is shown in a different color. The wavelengths are at 211 (red - 2 million degrees), 193 (green - 1.3 million degrees), and 171 Angstroms (blue - 600,000 degrees). The cadence is basically a frame every 45 minutes. The brightest areas are active regions, which have stronger magnetic field than the surrounding area.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

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Then there were two

A single sunspot (Sunspot 1093) on the Sun's surface divided itself and became two spots over a two-day period (Aug. 8 - 10, 2010). Using selections from the highest resolution images from the white light HMI instrument on SDO, we were able to see the process as it unfolded. Each of the spots is about the size of Earth. Sunspots are darker cooler regions of intense magnetism that pop up through the surface of the Sun. While this separation is not uncommon, we have never observed the division so clearly before.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

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Double Trouble

The magnetic field connecting two sunspot groups that were close together erupted with a minor (C-class) flare and a coronal mass ejection (Aug. 14, 2010) that hurled a cloud of radiation, particles, and magnetic field out into space. The event lasted about two hours. The blob of magnetic cloud can best be seen in the AIA 304 wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. But the blast wave that sweeps across a portion of the Sun is best seen in the AIA 211 wavelength. So, to get a fuller perspective, we offer both clips that cover about the same time period.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

211 QT Video
304 QT Video

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Flare Blowout

A close-up look at a substantial active region for a day (July 9, 2010) shows a hotbed of magnetic activity that leads to a small solar flare bursting out into space near the end of the video clip. The images were taken by SDO's AIA instrument in the 171 Angstrom wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. The thin arcing loops are really particles spiraling along magnetic field lines above the active region. The images are taken in black and white with false color added to identify quickly which instrument was doing the observation.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

Video

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A Coronal Flash

A prominence and its interaction with the corona are captured in two different AIA extreme ultraviolet wavebands: 193 Angstrom (above) and 304 Angstrom (below). The 304 Angstrom material is cooler (around 50,000 Kelvin) than the plasma seen in the 193 Angstrom images (around 1.5 million Kelvin). As the cool prominence plasma streams onto the disk of the Sun, it deposits energy and a "flash" is visible in both wavebands.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

Video

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Keeping a Watchful Eye Out

SDO watched in extreme ultraviolet light as a fairly strong active region rotated across the center of the Sun over the course of four and a half days (July 23 – 27, 2010). The looping arcs above this active region were in ever changing motion the entire time. There was lesser activity in numerous other areas across the Sun as well. Near the end of the clip another active region begins to appear around the Sun's edge. Perhaps this one will produce some "space weather."

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

Video

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Arcing Active Region

As the arcing loops above an active region began to rotate into a nice profile view, SDO captured the dynamic, magnetic struggles taking place below (July 6-8, 2010). Particles spiraling along magnetic field lines trace their paths. Magnetic forces in the active region are connecting, breaking apart, and reconnecting. These images were taken in extreme ultraviolet light. Although mostly hidden from our view, the active region did unleash a number of small flares.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

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Got 3D?

Want to see the Sun in 3D? While the SDO mission cannot produce true 3D images of the Sun like STEREO was able to do, 3D solar images can still be made from SDO images. By using simple 3D steps with Photoshop (or other image editing software), we combined two images that were taken in one extreme UV wavelength about 8 hours apart (June 25, 2010) into one 3D image (directions can be found here). The Sun's rotation created enough of a perspective change for this to work fairly well. It's software magic! Both images are provided if you want to try this yourself!

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

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Magnetic Underpinnings

All of the features of the (left side of) figure below - loops, dark coronal holes, small brightened regions - have their roots in the solar magnetic field. The yellow image shows the 171 Angstrom wavelength, which corresponds to the Sun's corona at about 1 million degrees, and the black and white magnetogram image shows the magnetic field. (These are now available on the SDO web site every day.) Black is where the magnetic field is pointing towards the Sun, and white is where the magnetic field is pointing away from the Sun. The magnetic field is created in the interior, and when the field emerges it can form sunspots. However, most of the Sun is covered by tiny magnetic field elements, which connect to the "quiet" features seen in the coronal image.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

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Flashing Flares

SDO observed as an active region emerged, expanded and blew out at least four flares over about a 40-hour period (June 11-12, 2010). With the ability to zoom in on active regions and retain very good level of detail, we are able to more clearly detect and analyze the flares (which appear as bursts of white flashes when seen in extreme UV light) and related activity. Images were taken at the wavelength of 193 Angstroms. Flares are brief but explosive solar storms that eject radiation and particles into space. These flares were about average in terms of their power.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

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Flourishing Active Regions

The close-up view of waving, dynamic loops above two active regions on the Sun reveal the magnetic struggle occurring near the surface over a two-day period (June 6-7, 2010). As seen here in extreme UV light, charged particles spiral along these magnetic loops that arc out above and back into the surface. The emission from these particles is what creates the light that appears in the image and reveals the magnetic field lines. If viewed in visible light, larger active regions (like the lower one) appear as darker sunspots because they are somewhat cooler than the surrounding solar surface. It looks like the two active regions do generate some magnetic interactions with each other as well.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO

YouTube Movie

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Large Coronal Hole

A large coronal hole is easy to spot in this image of the Sun from SDO's AIA instrument. In the extreme UV wavelength of 193 Angstroms, the dark coronal hole extends from the top of the Sun to almost halfway down (May 27, 2010). Coronal holes are magnetically open areas from which high-speed solar wind streams out into space. They appear darker in this wavelength because there is just less of the material that is being imaged, in this case ionized iron. This is one of the most substantial coronal hole areas spotted on the Sun in many months.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO