{ "id": 11000, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "NASA's Fermi Detects the Highest-Energy Light from a Solar Flare", "description": "During a powerful solar blast in March, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected the highest-energy light ever associated with an eruption on the sun. The discovery heralds Fermi's new role as a solar observatory, a powerful new tool for understanding solar outbursts during the sun's maximum period of activity.\"For most of Fermi's four years in orbit, its Large Area Telescope (LAT) saw the sun as a faint, steady gamma-ray source thanks to the impacts of high-speed particles called cosmic rays,\" said Nicola Omodei, an astrophysicist at Stanford University in California. \"Now we're beginning to see what the sun itself can do.\"A solar flare is an explosive blast of light and charged particles. The powerful March 7 flare, which earned a classification of X5.4 based on the peak intensity of its X-rays, is the strongest eruption so far observed by Fermi's LAT. The flare produced such an outpouring of gamma rays — a form of light with even greater energy than X-rays — that the sun briefly became the brightest object in the gamma-ray sky.At the flare's peak, the LAT detected gamma rays with two billion times the energy of visible light, or about 4 billion electron volts (GeV), easily setting a record for the highest-energy light ever detected during or just after a solar flare. The flux of high-energy gamma rays, defined as those with energies beyond 100 million electron volts (MeV), was 1,000 times greater than the sun's steady output. The March 7 flare also is notable for the persistence of its gamma-ray emission. Fermi's LAT detected high-energy gamma rays for about 20 hours, two and a half times longer than any event on record. Additionally, the event marks the first time a greater-than-100-MeV gamma-ray source has been localized to the sun's disk, thanks to the LAT's keen angular resolution. Flares and other eruptive solar events produce gamma rays by accelerating charged particles, which then collide with matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface. For instance, interactions among protons result in short-lived subatomic particles called pions, which produce high-energy gamma rays when they decay. Nuclei excited by collisions with lower-energy ions give off characteristic gamma rays as they settle down. Accelerated electrons emit gamma rays as they collide with protons and atomic nuclei.Solar eruptions are now on the rise as the sun progresses toward the peak of its roughly 11-year-long activity cycle, now expected in mid-2013. || ", "release_date": "2012-06-11T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:53:01.671992-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 475355, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels_small.jpg", "filename": "LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels_small.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "During a powerful solar blast in March, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected the highest-energy light ever associated with an eruption on the sun. The discovery heralds Fermi's new role as a solar observatory, a powerful new tool for understanding solar outbursts during the sun's maximum period of activity.\"For most of Fermi's four years in orbit, its Large Area Telescope (LAT) saw the sun as a faint, steady gamma-ray source thanks to the impacts of high-speed particles called cosmic rays,\" said Nicola Omodei, an astrophysicist at Stanford University in California. \"Now we're beginning to see what the sun itself can do.\"A solar flare is an explosive blast of light and charged particles. The powerful March 7 flare, which earned a classification of X5.4 based on the peak intensity of its X-rays, is the strongest eruption so far observed by Fermi's LAT. The flare produced such an outpouring of gamma rays — a form of light with even greater energy than X-rays — that the sun briefly became the brightest object in the gamma-ray sky.At the flare's peak, the LAT detected gamma rays with two billion times the energy of visible light, or about 4 billion electron volts (GeV), easily setting a record for the highest-energy light ever detected during or just after a solar flare. The flux of high-energy gamma rays, defined as those with energies beyond 100 million electron volts (MeV), was 1,000 times greater than the sun's steady output. The March 7 flare also is notable for the persistence of its gamma-ray emission. Fermi's LAT detected high-energy gamma rays for about 20 hours, two and a half times longer than any event on record. Additionally, the event marks the first time a greater-than-100-MeV gamma-ray source has been localized to the sun's disk, thanks to the LAT's keen angular resolution. Flares and other eruptive solar events produce gamma rays by accelerating charged particles, which then collide with matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface. For instance, interactions among protons result in short-lived subatomic particles called pions, which produce high-energy gamma rays when they decay. Nuclei excited by collisions with lower-energy ions give off characteristic gamma rays as they settle down. Accelerated electrons emit gamma rays as they collide with protons and atomic nuclei.Solar eruptions are now on the rise as the sun progresses toward the peak of its roughly 11-year-long activity cycle, now expected in mid-2013.", "width": 469, "height": 903, "pixels": 423507 }, "main_video": { "id": 475330, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_H264_1280x720_30.mov", "filename": "11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_H264_1280x720_30.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 }, "main_credits": { "Visualizations by": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 349052, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349052", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "During a powerful solar blast in March, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected the highest-energy light ever associated with an eruption on the sun. The discovery heralds Fermi's new role as a solar observatory, a powerful new tool for understanding solar outbursts during the sun's maximum period of activity.

\"For most of Fermi's four years in orbit, its Large Area Telescope (LAT) saw the sun as a faint, steady gamma-ray source thanks to the impacts of high-speed particles called cosmic rays,\" said Nicola Omodei, an astrophysicist at Stanford University in California. \"Now we're beginning to see what the sun itself can do.\"

A solar flare is an explosive blast of light and charged particles. The powerful March 7 flare, which earned a classification of X5.4 based on the peak intensity of its X-rays, is the strongest eruption so far observed by Fermi's LAT. The flare produced such an outpouring of gamma rays — a form of light with even greater energy than X-rays — that the sun briefly became the brightest object in the gamma-ray sky.

At the flare's peak, the LAT detected gamma rays with two billion times the energy of visible light, or about 4 billion electron volts (GeV), easily setting a record for the highest-energy light ever detected during or just after a solar flare. The flux of high-energy gamma rays, defined as those with energies beyond 100 million electron volts (MeV), was 1,000 times greater than the sun's steady output.

The March 7 flare also is notable for the persistence of its gamma-ray emission. Fermi's LAT detected high-energy gamma rays for about 20 hours, two and a half times longer than any event on record.

Additionally, the event marks the first time a greater-than-100-MeV gamma-ray source has been localized to the sun's disk, thanks to the LAT's keen angular resolution.

Flares and other eruptive solar events produce gamma rays by accelerating charged particles, which then collide with matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface. For instance, interactions among protons result in short-lived subatomic particles called pions, which produce high-energy gamma rays when they decay. Nuclei excited by collisions with lower-energy ions give off characteristic gamma rays as they settle down. Accelerated electrons emit gamma rays as they collide with protons and atomic nuclei.

Solar eruptions are now on the rise as the sun progresses toward the peak of its roughly 11-year-long activity cycle, now expected in mid-2013.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 349053, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349053", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.

Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.

For complete transcript, click here.", "items": [ { "id": 320355, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475336, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/Fermi_Solar_Flares_Still_1.png", "filename": "Fermi_Solar_Flares_Still_1.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 720, "height": 1280, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320356, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475340, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/Fermi_Solar_Flares_Still_1_web.png", "filename": "Fermi_Solar_Flares_Still_1_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 320346, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475335, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320347, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475332, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320348, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475333, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "filename": "11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320349, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475339, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/G2012-063_Fermi_Solar_Flares_FINAL_youtube_hq.mov", "filename": "G2012-063_Fermi_Solar_Flares_FINAL_youtube_hq.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320350, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475338, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/G2012-063_Fermi_Solar_Flares_FINAL_appletv.m4v", "filename": "G2012-063_Fermi_Solar_Flares_FINAL_appletv.m4v", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 960, "height": 540, "pixels": 518400 } }, { "id": 320351, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475330, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_H264_1280x720_30.mov", "filename": "11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_H264_1280x720_30.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320352, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475337, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/G2012-063_Fermi_Solar_Flares_FINAL.wmv", "filename": "G2012-063_Fermi_Solar_Flares_FINAL.wmv", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320353, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475334, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "filename": "11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320357, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475341, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/G2012-063_Fermi_Solar_Flares_FINAL_appletv.webmhd.webm", "filename": "G2012-063_Fermi_Solar_Flares_FINAL_appletv.webmhd.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 960, "height": 540, "pixels": 518400 } }, { "id": 320354, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475331, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_H264_640x360_29.97_iPhone.m4v", "filename": "11000_Fermi_Solar_Flares_H264_640x360_29.97_iPhone.m4v", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Short narrated video about Fermi's observations.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 640, "height": 360, "pixels": 230400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 349054, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349054", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "items": [ { "id": 320367, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475351, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/Flare_Pion_Still.jpg", "filename": "Flare_Pion_Still.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320368, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475352, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/Flare_Pion_Still_web.png", "filename": "Flare_Pion_Still_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 320358, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475347, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320359, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475344, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320360, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475345, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "filename": "1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320361, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475350, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_animation_youtube_hq.mov", "filename": "1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_animation_youtube_hq.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320362, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475349, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_animation_appletv.m4v", "filename": "1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_animation_appletv.m4v", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 960, "height": 540, "pixels": 518400 } }, { "id": 320363, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475348, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_animation.wmv", "filename": "1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_animation.wmv", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320364, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475342, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_H264_1280x720_30.mov", "filename": "1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_H264_1280x720_30.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320365, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475346, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "filename": "1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 320369, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475353, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_animation_appletv.webmhd.webm", "filename": "1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_animation_appletv.webmhd.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 960, "height": 540, "pixels": 518400 } }, { "id": 320366, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475343, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_H264_640x360_29.97_iPhone.m4v", "filename": "1100_Fermi_Flare_Pion_GR_H264_640x360_29.97_iPhone.m4v", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Solar flares produce gamma rays by several processes, one of which is illustrated here. The energy released in a solar flare rapidly accelerates charged particles. When a high-energy proton strikes matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface, the result may be a short-lived particle — a pion — that emits gamma rays when it decays.", "width": 640, "height": 360, "pixels": 230400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 349055, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349055", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This image from Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows how the entire sky looked on March 7 in the light of gamma rays with energies beyond 100 MeV. Although the Vela pulsar is the brightest continuous LAT source, it was outmatched this day by the X5.4 solar flare, which brightened the sun by 1,000 times.

Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "items": [ { "id": 320370, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475354, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels.jpg", "filename": "LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This image from Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows how the entire sky looked on March 7 in the light of gamma rays with energies beyond 100 MeV. Although the Vela pulsar is the brightest continuous LAT source, it was outmatched this day by the X5.4 solar flare, which brightened the sun by 1,000 times. Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 3583, "height": 2192, "pixels": 7853936 } }, { "id": 320371, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475355, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels_small.jpg", "filename": "LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels_small.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "During a powerful solar blast in March, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected the highest-energy light ever associated with an eruption on the sun. The discovery heralds Fermi's new role as a solar observatory, a powerful new tool for understanding solar outbursts during the sun's maximum period of activity.\"For most of Fermi's four years in orbit, its Large Area Telescope (LAT) saw the sun as a faint, steady gamma-ray source thanks to the impacts of high-speed particles called cosmic rays,\" said Nicola Omodei, an astrophysicist at Stanford University in California. \"Now we're beginning to see what the sun itself can do.\"A solar flare is an explosive blast of light and charged particles. The powerful March 7 flare, which earned a classification of X5.4 based on the peak intensity of its X-rays, is the strongest eruption so far observed by Fermi's LAT. The flare produced such an outpouring of gamma rays — a form of light with even greater energy than X-rays — that the sun briefly became the brightest object in the gamma-ray sky.At the flare's peak, the LAT detected gamma rays with two billion times the energy of visible light, or about 4 billion electron volts (GeV), easily setting a record for the highest-energy light ever detected during or just after a solar flare. The flux of high-energy gamma rays, defined as those with energies beyond 100 million electron volts (MeV), was 1,000 times greater than the sun's steady output. The March 7 flare also is notable for the persistence of its gamma-ray emission. Fermi's LAT detected high-energy gamma rays for about 20 hours, two and a half times longer than any event on record. Additionally, the event marks the first time a greater-than-100-MeV gamma-ray source has been localized to the sun's disk, thanks to the LAT's keen angular resolution. Flares and other eruptive solar events produce gamma rays by accelerating charged particles, which then collide with matter in the sun's atmosphere and visible surface. For instance, interactions among protons result in short-lived subatomic particles called pions, which produce high-energy gamma rays when they decay. Nuclei excited by collisions with lower-energy ions give off characteristic gamma rays as they settle down. Accelerated electrons emit gamma rays as they collide with protons and atomic nuclei.Solar eruptions are now on the rise as the sun progresses toward the peak of its roughly 11-year-long activity cycle, now expected in mid-2013.", "width": 469, "height": 903, "pixels": 423507 } }, { "id": 320372, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475356, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels_web.png", "filename": "LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This image from Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows how the entire sky looked on March 7 in the light of gamma rays with energies beyond 100 MeV. Although the Vela pulsar is the brightest continuous LAT source, it was outmatched this day by the X5.4 solar flare, which brightened the sun by 1,000 times. Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 320, "height": 195, "pixels": 62400 } }, { "id": 320373, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475357, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels_thm.png", "filename": "LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This image from Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows how the entire sky looked on March 7 in the light of gamma rays with energies beyond 100 MeV. Although the Vela pulsar is the brightest continuous LAT source, it was outmatched this day by the X5.4 solar flare, which brightened the sun by 1,000 times. Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 80, "height": 40, "pixels": 3200 } }, { "id": 320374, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475358, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels_searchweb.png", "filename": "LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_labels_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This image from Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows how the entire sky looked on March 7 in the light of gamma rays with energies beyond 100 MeV. Although the Vela pulsar is the brightest continuous LAT source, it was outmatched this day by the X5.4 solar flare, which brightened the sun by 1,000 times. Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 349056, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349056", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This image from Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows how the entire sky looked on March 7 in the light of gamma rays with energies beyond 100 MeV. Although the Vela pulsar is the brightest continuous LAT source, it was outmatched this day by the X5.4 solar flare, which brightened the sun by 1,000 times. No Labels.

Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "items": [ { "id": 320375, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475359, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_no_labels.jpg", "filename": "LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_no_labels.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This image from Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows how the entire sky looked on March 7 in the light of gamma rays with energies beyond 100 MeV. Although the Vela pulsar is the brightest continuous LAT source, it was outmatched this day by the X5.4 solar flare, which brightened the sun by 1,000 times. No Labels.Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 3583, "height": 2192, "pixels": 7853936 } }, { "id": 320376, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475360, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_no_labels_web.png", "filename": "LAT_all-sky_flare_March_7_2012_no_labels_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This image from Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows how the entire sky looked on March 7 in the light of gamma rays with energies beyond 100 MeV. Although the Vela pulsar is the brightest continuous LAT source, it was outmatched this day by the X5.4 solar flare, which brightened the sun by 1,000 times. No Labels.Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 320, "height": 195, "pixels": 62400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 349057, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349057", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "items": [ { "id": 320377, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475361, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/SDO_2012-03-07_171_X5Flare-Closeup.00369.jpg", "filename": "SDO_2012-03-07_171_X5Flare-Closeup.00369.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 2290, "height": 1654, "pixels": 3787660 } }, { "id": 320378, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475362, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/SDO_2012-03-07_171_X5Flare-Closeup.00369_web.jpg", "filename": "SDO_2012-03-07_171_X5Flare-Closeup.00369_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 320, "height": 231, "pixels": 73920 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 349058, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349058", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Full disk image of March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "items": [ { "id": 320381, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475365, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/SDO_2012-03-07_171_X5Flare.00369.jpg", "filename": "SDO_2012-03-07_171_X5Flare.00369.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Full disk image of March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 4096, "height": 4096, "pixels": 16777216 } }, { "id": 320380, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475364, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/SDO_2012-03-07_171_X5Flare.00369_web.jpg", "filename": "SDO_2012-03-07_171_X5Flare.00369_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Full disk image of March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 320, "height": 320, "pixels": 102400 } }, { "id": 320379, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475363, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/SDO_2012-03-07_171_X5Flare.00369.tif", "filename": "SDO_2012-03-07_171_X5Flare.00369.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Full disk image of March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 4096, "height": 4096, "pixels": 16777216 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 349059, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349059", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "items": [ { "id": 320382, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475366, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/SDO_2012-03-07_131_X5Flare-crop.00433.jpg", "filename": "SDO_2012-03-07_131_X5Flare-crop.00433.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 2104, "height": 2108, "pixels": 4435232 } }, { "id": 320383, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475367, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/SDO_2012-03-07_131_X5Flare-crop.00433_web.jpg", "filename": "SDO_2012-03-07_131_X5Flare-crop.00433_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 319, "height": 320, "pixels": 102080 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 349060, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349060", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Full disk image of March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "items": [ { "id": 320384, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475368, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/SDO_2012-03-07_131_X5Flare.00433.jpg", "filename": "SDO_2012-03-07_131_X5Flare.00433.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Full disk image of March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 4096, "height": 4096, "pixels": 16777216 } }, { "id": 320385, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475369, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/SDO_2012-03-07_131_X5Flare.00433_web.jpg", "filename": "SDO_2012-03-07_131_X5Flare.00433_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Full disk image of March 7, 2012 X5.4 flare in 171 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 320, "height": 320, "pixels": 102400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 349061, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349061", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "June 12, 2010 flare in 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "items": [ { "id": 320386, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475370, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/20100612_010459_4096_0131_Flare_Crop.jpg", "filename": "20100612_010459_4096_0131_Flare_Crop.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "June 12, 2010 flare in 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 320387, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475371, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/20100612_010459_4096_0131_Flare_Crop_web.jpg", "filename": "20100612_010459_4096_0131_Flare_Crop_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "June 12, 2010 flare in 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 349062, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349062", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Full disk image of June 12, 2010 flare in 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "items": [ { "id": 320388, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475372, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/20100612_010459_4096_0131.jpg", "filename": "20100612_010459_4096_0131.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Full disk image of June 12, 2010 flare in 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 4096, "height": 4096, "pixels": 16777216 } }, { "id": 320389, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 475373, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011000/a011000/20100612_010459_4096_0131_web.jpg", "filename": "20100612_010459_4096_0131_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Full disk image of June 12, 2010 flare in 131 angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.", "width": 320, "height": 320, "pixels": 102400 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 349063, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11000/#media_group_349063", "widget": "Basic text", "title": "For More Information", "caption": "", "description": "See [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/highest-energy.html](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/highest-energy.html)", "items": [], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "gms", "funding_sources": [ "NASA Astrophysics" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Animator", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Video editor", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Writer", "people": [ { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "SPSYS" } ] } ], "missions": [ "Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope", "SDO" ], "series": [ "Narrated Movies" ], "tapes": [ "Fermi Solar Flares (Produced by: Robert Crippen)" ], "papers": [], "datasets": [ { "name": "", "common_name": "", "platform": "Fermi", "sensor": null, "type": "Other", "organizations": [], "description": "", "credit": "", "url": "", "date_range": null } ], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Sun", "Universe" ], "keywords": [ "Ast", "Astrophysics", "Earth Science", "Fermi", "Gamma Ray", "HDTV", "Heliophysics", "Narrated", "SDO", "Solar Activity", "Solar Dynamics Observatory", "Solar Flares", "Solar Ultraviolet", "Space", "Spectral/Engineering", "Sun-earth Interactions" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 10925, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10925/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "HD Close up of March 6th X5.4 Flare", "description": "The sun erupted with one of the largest solar flares of this solar cycle on March 6, 2012 at 7PM ET. ?This flare was categorized as an X5.4, making it the second largest flare — after an X6.9 on August 9, 2011 — since the sun's activity segued into a period of relatively low activity called solar minimum in early 2007. The current increase in the number of X-class flares is part of the sun's normal 11-year solar cycle, during which activity on the sun ramps up to solar maximum, which is expected to peak in late 2013. About an hour later, at 8:14 PM ET, March 6, the same region let loose an X1.3 class flare. ?An X1 is 5 times smaller than an X5 flare. These X-class flares erupted from an active region named AR 1429 that rotated into view on March 2. ?Prior to this, the region had already produced numerous M-class and one X-class flare. ?The region continues to rotate across the front of the sun, so the March 6 flare was more Earthward facing than the previous ones. ?It triggered a temporary radio blackout on the sunlit side of Earth that interfered with radio navigation and short wave radio.In association with these flares, the sun also expelled two significant coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are traveling faster than 600 miles a second and may arrive at Earth in the next few days. ?In the meantime, the CME associated with the X-class flare from March 4 has dumped solar particles and magnetic fields into Earth's atmosphere and distorted Earth's magnetic fields, causing a moderate geomagnetic storm, rated a G2 on a scale from G1 to G5. ?Such storms happen when the magnetic fields around Earth rapidly change strength and shape. ?A moderate storm usually causes aurora and may interfere with high frequency radio transmission near the poles. ?This storm is already dwindling, but the Earth may experience another enhancement if the most recent CMEs are directed toward and impact Earth. In addition, last night's flares have sent solar particles into Earth's atmosphere, producing a moderate solar energetic particle event, also called a solar radiation storm. These particles have been detected by NASA's SOHO and STEREO spacecraft, and NOAA's GOES spacecraft. ?At the time of writing, this storm is rated an S3 on a scale that goes up to S5. ?Such storms can interfere with high frequency radio communication. Besides the August 2011 X-class flare, the last time the sun sent out flares of this magnitude was in 2006. ?There was an X6.5 on December 6, 2006 and an X9.0 on December 5, 2006. Like the most recent events, those two flares erupted from the same region on the sun, which is a common occurrence. || ", "release_date": "2012-03-07T15:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:53:13.456307-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 478390, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010900/a010925/Massive_Flare_HD_Still.png", "filename": "Massive_Flare_HD_Still.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Massive Flare Gets HD Closeup.Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDOFor complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 10690, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10690/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "How to make a gamma ray", "description": "A series of animations showing how gamma rays can be created through various particle interactions. || ", "release_date": "2010-11-09T13:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:53:57.665308-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 489082, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010600/a010690/Inverse_Compton278.jpg", "filename": "Inverse_Compton278.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Inverse Compton scattering animation. An electron travelling at close the speed of light has a head-on collision with a lower-energy photon (from microwave to ultraviolet). The photon picks up energy from the electron and becomes a gamma ray.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }