August 31, 2012 Magnificent CME

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    ID: 11203 Produced Video

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    Feb. 11th, 2013
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    On Feb. 11, 2010, NASA launched an unprecedented solar observatory into space. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) flew up on an Atlas V rocket, carrying instruments that scientists hoped would revolutionize observations of the sun. If all went according to plan, SDO would provide incredibly high-resolution data of the entire solar disk almost as quickly as once a second. When the science team released its first images in April of 2010, SDO's data exceeded everyone's hopes and expectations, providing stunningly detailed views of the sun. In the three years since then, SDO's images have continued to show breathtaking pictures and movies of eruptive events on the sun. Such imagery is more than just pretty, they are the very data that scientists study. By highlighting different wavelengths of light, scientists can track how material on the sun moves. Such movement, in turn, holds clues as to what causes these giant explosions, which, when Earth-directed, can disrupt technology in space. SDO is the first mission in a NASA's Living With a Star program, the goal of which is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the sun-Earth system that directly affect our lives and society. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. built, operates, and manages the SDO spacecraft for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.SDO: Year One here.SDO: Year 2 here.Information about the individual clips used in this video is here.Watch this video on YouTube. ||

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    ID: 3999 Visualization

    The View from SDO: The August 31, 2012 Filament Eruption

    Oct. 26th, 2012
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    The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observed a large filament eruption on August 31, 2012. This visualization was generated using high time resolution (12 seconds) data from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA). Two datasets are used, the SDO/AIA 304 Ångstrom wavelength (orange color table) and the 171 Ångstrom wavelength (gold color table). These are wavelengths in the ultraviolet band of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are not visible to the human eye or to ground-based telescopes so coded colors are used in presentation.It is the source material for "August 31, 2012 Magnificent CME" visualization. ||

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    ID: 11078 Produced Video

    Class Act

    Sept. 13th, 2012
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    In August 2012, a long filament of solar material coalesced in the sun's atmosphere. For several days it was visible, appearing from Earth's viewpoint to curl up and over the left side of the sun. Scientists estimate its length was approximately 186,000 miles, equivalent to 30 Earths placed side by side. On August 31 at 4:36 p.m. EDT, the filament expanded and erupted, releasing particles into space at speeds of 900 miles per second. The ejected material did not head directly toward Earth, though some of it did glance off the planet's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3. The video shows the eruption—a particularly gorgeous one, even for veteran observers of the sun—as seen by three NASA spacecraft. ||

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• Newer versions

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    ID: 4909 Visualization

    Monster Solar Filament Launch and CME

    June 18th, 2021
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    Launch of the filament at low cadence (36 seconds) as visible in the 304 Angstrom filter on SDO/AIA. || A large filament of plasma erupted from the Sun in late August 2012. It was a structure that had 'hovered' over the solar surface for some time before finally being launched.Here are two views of the event - a fast version, illustrating more of the before and after configuration, sampled every 15 minutes; and a slow version, focused around the details of the actual eruption. || Launch of the filament at low cadence (36 seconds) as visible in the 171 Angstrom filter on SDO/AIA. ||

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