On this scale, the CME is so faint as to be invisible. However, the Heliospheric Imagers support such a broad range of image intensity that it is possible to observe the CME propagating through the field of view by computing differences of images with the preceeding image. This process is shown in animation #3890.
The Earth (left side) and Venus (middle) are so bright as to 'bloom' along the readout line of the CCD (Charge-coupled device) pixels, which creates the bright vertical lines that move slightly with time. The dark shape on the left of the field of view is created by an occulting tab that was installed to (occasionally) hide the bright Earth in the view.
The little cross markers label three other planets in the view of STEREO. Uranus is almost invisible in the scale of this imagery, but is visible in full-resolution datasets.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 350371, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3846/#media_group_350371", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "A movie of the heliospheric region viewed from STEREO-A. If you watch the bright 'bloom' created by the Earth (left side) starting around the December 28, 2008 time marker, you will see a much smaller, fainter 'bloom' appear between the Earth and the Sun. 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"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3890/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "From the Sun to the Earth: CME Enhancement", "description": "This visualization shows the dataset from STEREO-A processed to enhance the visibility of the coronal mass ejection (CME) in entry #3846. The data are combined from the SECCHI instrument, which includes an ultraviolet image of the Sun (EUVI), two coronographs (COR-1 & COR-2), and the wide-angle Heliospheric Imagers (HI-1 & HI-2).Because the enhancement process for the CME involves computing differences from a number of sequential HI-1 and HI-2 images, the Earth (left side) and Venus (middle) are masked and oversized icons are installed to mark their position. The dark shape on the left of the field of view is created by an occulting tab that was installed to (occasionally) hide the bright Earth in the view.The little cross markers label three other planets in the view of STEREO. Uranus is almost invisible in the scale of this imagery, but is visible in full-resolution datasets. || ", "release_date": "2011-12-06T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2025-01-05T22:08:33.027732-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 480754, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003800/a003890/STEREOCMECrop.composite._stand.HD1080i.00250.jpg", "filename": "STEREOCMECrop.composite._stand.HD1080i.00250.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A view of the heliospheric region viewed from STEREO-A, using difference algorithms to enhance the visibility of the CME.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }