CMEpalooza - May 14, 2013

Inner heliosphere view (to orbit of Mars) of launching of five coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Time samples of the model are three hours apart. || Mid-May 2013 marked a series of active solar events, the likes of which have not been seen since near the peak of solar cycle 23 in October-November of 2003 (see Looking Back at 2003s Spooky Halloween Solar Storms).Five distinct coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, were launched from the sun from Active Regions AR 1748 starting May 13, 2013, through May 20, 2013. Some of the CMEs were associated with preceding M- and X-class flares. The CMEs were not a major threat to Earth technologies as most of them missed Earth, but they did impact various NASA satellites around the solar system. The last of the series of CMEs brushed by Earth. || Outer heliosphere view (to orbit of Saturn) of coronal mass ejections. The timesteps of the model are six hours apart. || This color table represents how displaying each of the three variables as separate red, green, and blue color ramps combine to identify characteristics in the solar wind and CME. || The mass density in atomic mass units (AMUs) per cubic centimeter. 1 AMU/cc corresponds to 1 hydrogen ion or atom per cc. || Plasma temperture scale, in Kelvin.