Solar Explosions
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- Visualizations by:
- Tom Bridgman
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- Written by:
- Karen Fox
- View full credits
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.
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.) [Lead]
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Writer
- Karen Fox (ADNET Systems, Inc.) [Lead]
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Video editor
- Scott Wiessinger (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Producer
- Scott Wiessinger (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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ID: 11670 Produced Video
Sun Emits Mid-Level Flare on October 2, 2014
Read moreThe sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 3:01 p.m. EDT on Oct. 2, 2014. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun 24-hours a day, captured images of the flare. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.This flare is classified as an M7.3 flare. M-class flares are one-tenth as powerful as the most powerful flares, which are designated X-class flares. ||
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