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ESA & NASA/SOHO
The European Space Agency and NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured these images of the sun spitting out a coronal mass ejection on March 15, 2013.
By Tariq Malik, SPACE.com
A massive eruption on the sun Friday unleashed a wave of intense solar particles at Earth that may spark a geomagnetic storm and boost weekend aurora displays.
The Earth-directed solar storm occurred Friday at 2:54 a.m. EDT (0654 GMT) in what astronomers call a coronal mass ejection — or CME — a sun eruption that can release billions of tons of solar material into space. The particles typically take between one and three days to reach Earth, where they can pose a hazard to satellites and electronic systems in orbit and on the planet's surface, NASA officials said in a statement.
The solar particles from the Friday eruption were expected to reach Earth Sunday.
"High-latitude and possibly even middle-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras this weekend," the website Spaceweather.com, which tracks space weather and stargazing events, said in a weekend alert. [Amazing Auroras Photos of 2013]
The Friday sun eruption sent a wave of solar particles streaking toward Earth at about 900 miles per second, according to observations by NASA and European spacecraft. That is the equivalent of a mind-boggling about 3.2 million miles per hour (5.2 million km/h).
According to NASA, this "is a fairly fast speed for CMEs. Historically, CMEs at this speed have caused mild to moderate effects at Earth."
The solar eruption should not pose a threat to satellites and spacecraft around Earth, but it may pass NASA's Messenger spacecraft orbiting Mercury and the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope, agency officials said. NASA alerted the mission operation centers for both missions.
"There is, however, only minor particle radiation associated with this event, which is what would normally concern operators of interplanetary spacecraft since the particles can trip on board computer electronics," NASA officials said.
An alert by the Space Weather Prediction Center operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the Earth's geomagnetic field could be at "unsettled to major storm levels" once the CME particles reached Earth Sunday. There was a 70 percent chance of a geomagnetic storm today, the Spaceweather.com alert added.
When the sun fires off an eruption in Earth's direction, the charged solar particles that reach the planet are funneled to the Earth's poles by its magnetic field. When the particles interact with the Earth's atmosphere, they can cause a glow visible from the ground: the northern lights.
Northern lights displays over the North Pole region are known as the aurora borealis. Their southern counterpart is known as the aurora australis.
The sun is currently in the midst of an active phase of its 11-year solar weather cycle and is expected to reach its peak activity in 2013.
Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo of the northern lights in the night sky, or any other celestial object, and you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please send images and comments, including location information, to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.
- Amazing Auroras: Northern Lights of November 2012 (Photos)
- Anatomy of Sun Storms & Solar Flares (Infographic)
- Solar Quiz: How Well Do You Know Our Sun?
Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Leave a Comment:
This is an incorrect date "[Amazing Auroras Photos of 2013]" It should read Amazing Auroras Photos of 2012.
I wonder if the sun has anything to do with our climate... Does it introduce energy to our planet?
Teleco....we can survive that typo
NoLiberty, Um.... It gets colder at night and when the Sun shines it gets warmer. Figure it out for yourself or go back to the 4th grade.
Seriously? Does the sun have anything to do with our climate? Introduce energy to our planet? Even a, what some say is inaddequate, public education teaches that just about "all" life on this planet owes it's continued existance to the energy of the Sun. To make a very simple point- We live because of the Sun. Every green plant lives because of sunlight, and the animals that eat the green plant in turn ends up on your plate (if not the green plant itself).
I think NoLiberty was being sarcastic. Probably to do with "Global Warming". However, sarcasm is hard to "read" in print, so I'm not sure what was the point.
Meanwhile, on a more positive note, I hope we see some of the spectacular Northern Lights pictures in a few days. One of the peak experiences of my Air Force days was when we were flying north of the Arctic Circle one night, and the northern lights kicked off. Since we were inside the Arctic Circle, it looked like the northern lights completely surrounded us--beautiful and very surreal!
Hey Alan1234. You got an opportunity to see something really great! However, did you know that the auroras can be seen alot further south? I'm in NJ and I got to see some really cool displays. My dad's an amateur astronomer and he keeps up with this stuff. As a matter of fact, back in 2003 or 2004 (don't remember the year) we had a CME hit and I was lucky to have seen an amazing auroral display all the way down here in NJ! There were green and red whisps of light which looked like smoke. I told my neighbors and their kid took some pics with his new camera. We all had a great experience watching something so wonderful, interesting and rare.
Yes, sorry that was a bit subtle, but it was sarcasm. I think the news/social/political belief that global warming by our own hands is maaaaaaybe given just a bit too much credit.
Do we "pollute" our atmosphere?
Absolutely! as do plants, and thank goodness for them!
Are we likely to kill ourselves off with global warming solely from our means?
I could see it happening yes, maybe it IS fast (10 years?) maybe its slower (1000) but given enough time, sure!
Might the sun kill us off?
Humm... its burning us with 1,368 Watts per square meter of the Earth surface (average).
Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/SORCE/sorce_02.php
Add onto that, the knowledge that the sun can spew a billion tons of plasma, moving at millions of miles an hour, in our direction.
Sure... super low chance of being flame broiled, but between now and when we get our own climate change under control, I wonder what might happen.
Yes I think we should find non-sacrificial ways terraform our planet to be more comfortable, but lets please not ignore the nuclear fire in the sky :D
Is the sun big enough for a giant to light his cigar with it?
Watching the sky.
Hope you see something cool John.
Nice that we have a solar observer in space To watch the suns output. Before we did not know how much the sun erupted except earth based solar telescopes that are only good with the right weather and daylight at location.
I agree with you Brad; however, I do believe that sometimes it has to be shut down (as do other satellites) when a CME is headed toward it in order to prevent damage to sensitive circuitry.
Neutrinos.
No-trinos
These aurora, and the coronal mass ejection that sparked them, have nothing to do with solar neutrinos; that's a whole other ball-o-wax.
According to religious whackos even the photograph itself is the work of Satan!
don't forget, this is Obama's fault too.
Too bad it's scientific, otherwise the right would blame Obama for solar flares as well.
Ahh, Yash...check out David the Village Troll below...
Another fine example of global warming. Please liberals save us from Chicken little please Obama make the Snow stop falling? Please Al Gore quick sell a cable network to BIG OIL. Guns are bad Abortion is good. Debt is good when you print money give it to bankers and make the idiots who elected you pay it back. Good day moron liberals.
What? lol...the Aurora led to this???
Nobody said abortion was good you miserable excuse for a thinking human being. If abortion is outlawed the only thing that changes is only the rich can afford abortions. But then that's what all pubs really want, is for the rich to have more than the rest. Can't be an elitist otherwise.
Yash sounds like your trying to be an Elitist on us now. Telling us what to believe and think!!! Sorry in my research you didn't hit all the button right. Your a little liberal, or should i say very liberal when you use pubs as a cute word!!
Laws don't revent abortion. End of story. You don't need to be an elitist to recognize a$$holes masquerading as Christians.
WOW!!??
Revelation 16:8-9
The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory
You can repent and we'll de-pent. Different strokes for different folks!
And what the hell does the Revelation have to do with this?...
The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but HaShem shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
That was the Lenton Service theme tonight. Praise the Eternal Lord and his Son Christ Jesus.
That would be a concern, if not for the fact that the suns light comes not from fire.
Being woken up in the middle of the night by lights in the bedroom is a very cool thing!!! I have watched the light show going on for the last few nights and they are AMAZING!!!
(Am in Alaska)
Post some pictures!!
Say ye not: A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people do say: A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor account it dreadful
Be one with Christ on the cross of life and you shall be saved!! Amen!!
What is this, the first millenium? All that jazz went out with the dark ages, guys.
Groweth thy self uppeth !
Please Jesus, save us from your followers!
Wait... I remember this... from the movie "2012"
North Korea announced at a press conference that it was entering the space race. They plan to send a man to the sun.
When asked by reporters how that was possible since the sun was so hot, they replied "we've got that worked out. We're going at night".
Or they could just fly around to the back and land on the dark side.
That might use more gunpowder than their skyrocket can carry.