Solar Outburst

  • Released Thursday, March 24th, 2016
  • Updated Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 at 1:48PM
  • ID: 12183
A NASA spacecraft sees a spectacular explosion on the sun.

A NASA spacecraft sees a spectacular explosion on the sun.

There’s never a dull moment when it comes to the sun. Images taken from space in wavelengths invisible to the human eye show material in its atmosphere is constantly on the move. On March 13, 2016, a round solar prominence burst from the sun shortly after rotating into view of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, spacecraft. Prominences are clouds of solar material suspended above the sun's surface by the solar magnetic field. These massive structures are notoriously unstable and often break apart after a few days. When that happens, solar material streaming along magnetic field lines blasts out. The material either escapes into space or falls back to the solar surface, pulled by the sun’s gravity. Explosions directed toward Earth can affect orbiting spacecraft and disrupt power grids on the ground, so scientists keep an attentive watch on these types of events. Watch the video to see a time-lapse of the eruption.

This time-lapse video shows views of the eruption taken over a three-hour period by NASA's SDO spacecraft.

A circular plume of solar material bursts from the sun in this image captured on March 13, 2016.

A circular plume of solar material bursts from the sun in this image captured on March 13, 2016.

Much of the solar material fell back to the surface, unable to escape the sun's intense gravitational pull.

Much of the solar material fell back to the surface, unable to escape the sun's intense gravitational pull.

SDO spotted the eruption on the sun’s upper-left limb.

SDO spotted the eruption on the sun’s upper-left limb.

For More Information

See NASA.gov

App

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Video and images courtesy of NASA/SDO