Solar Explosions
On October 2, 2014, the sun unleashed a powerful burst of radiation known as a solar flare. The flare erupted on the right side of the sun, emitting a bright flash of light. Along with a sudden release of energy, a cloud of solar material shot up into the sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona. This region of the sun is millions of miles thick and consists of strong magnetic fields that extend far into space. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun 24 hours a day, captured images of the explosions in multiple wavelengths. Views collected by the spacecraft help scientists monitor the sun and predict how changes in its activity will affect our planet. Watch the video to see the explosions up close.
Light and matter erupt from the sun.
This video shows a time-lapse view of the explosions in different extreme ultraviolet wavelengths.
The solar flare produced a flash of light (above) that lasted 25 minutes.
Changes to the sun's magnetic fields, seen here as giant yellow arcs, triggered the explosions.
A surge of solar material explodes off the sun's lower right limb in this image.
For More Information
See NASA.gov
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Video courtesy of NASA/SDO/S. Wiessinger
Images courtesy of NASA/SDO
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Animator
- Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
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Video editor
- Scott Wiessinger (USRA)
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Producer
- Scott Wiessinger (USRA)
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Writer
- Karen Fox (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Release date
This page was originally published on Thursday, October 30, 2014.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:50 PM EDT.
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