{ "count": 25, "next": null, "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 5375, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5375/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2025-08-07T14:00:00-04:00", "title": "Carrington Class Coronal Mass Ejection - ENLIL Simulation of A Series of CMEs", "description": "A series of visualizations of the simulation of a series of CMEs between July 2012 and August 2012, including a carrington class coronal mass ejection that hit STEREO-A.", "hits": 433 }, { "id": 4699, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4699/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2018-11-30T14:00:00-05:00", "title": "The CME Heard 'Round the Solar System", "description": "As the CMEs and SIRs move through the solar system, we include graphs of particle fluxes measured at Earth, Mars, and STEREO-A. || SEPsAtMars.topfixed.UHDframes.clockSlate_HAE.UHD3840.01000_print.jpg (1024x576) [100.6 KB] || SEPsAtMars.topfixed.UHDframes.clockSlate_HAE.UHD3840.01000_thm.png (80x40) [6.5 KB] || SEPsAtMars.topfixed.UHDframes.clockSlate_HAE.UHD3840.01000_searchweb.png (320x180) [87.5 KB] || SEPsAtMars.topfixed_HAE.HD1080i_p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [19.4 MB] || 1920x1080_16x9_30p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || SEPsAtMars.topfixed_HAE.HD1080i_p30.webm (1920x1080) [3.0 MB] || SEPsAtMars.topfixed_HAE_2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [61.6 MB] || 3840x2160_16x9_30p (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || ", "hits": 158 }, { "id": 4680, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4680/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2018-10-04T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Space Weather to the Edge of the Solar System - Revisited", "description": "Cropped view of the Enlil model from early 2015 to just after the New Horizons flyby of Pluto. || NewHorizons.topfixed.HD1080frames.clockSlate_HAE.HD1080i.01000_print.jpg (1024x576) [97.2 KB] || NewHorizons.topfixed.HD1080frames.clockSlate_HAE.HD1080i.01000_searchweb.png (320x180) [79.1 KB] || NewHorizons.topfixed.HD1080frames.clockSlate_HAE.HD1080i.01000_thm.png (80x40) [5.0 KB] || TopView (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || NewHorizons.topfixed_HAE.HD1080i_p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [41.0 MB] || NewHorizons.topfixed_HAE.HD1080i_p30.webm (1920x1080) [6.6 MB] || TopView (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || NewHorizons.topfixed_HAE.UHD3840_2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [125.3 MB] || NewHorizons.topfixed_HAE.HD1080i_p30.mp4.hwshow [202 bytes] || ", "hits": 123 }, { "id": 4469, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4469/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2016-06-16T15:00:00-04:00", "title": "Dynamic Earth-A New Beginning", "description": "The visualization 'Excerpt from \"Dynamic Earth\"' has been one of the most popular visualizations that the Scientific Visualization Studio has ever created. It's often used in presentations and Hyperwall shows to illustrate the connections between the Earth and the Sun, as well as the power of computer simulation in understanding those connections.There is one part of this visualization, however, that has always seemed a little clumsy to us. The opening shot is a pullback from the limb of the sun, where the sun is represented by a movie of 304 Angstrom images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). It is difficult to pull back from the limb of a flat sun image and make the sun look spherical, and the problem was made more difficult because the original sun images were in a spherical dome show format. As a result, the pullback from the sun showed some odd reprojection artifacts.The best solution to this issue was to replace the existing pullout with a new one, one which pulled directly out from the center of the solar disk. For the new beginning, we chose a series of SDO images in the 171 Angstrom channel that show a visible coronal mass ejection (CME) in the lower right corner of the solar disk. Although this is not the specific CME that is seen affecting Venus and Earth later in this visualization, its presence links the SDO animation thematically to the later solar storm. The SDO images were also brightened considerably and tinted yellow to match the common perception of the Sun as a bright yellow object (even though it is actually white).Please go to the original version of this visualization to see the complete credits and additional details. || ", "hits": 86 }, { "id": 4392, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4392/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2015-12-08T10:00:00-05:00", "title": "Space Weather to the Edge of the Solar System", "description": "Cropped view of the Enlil model from early 2015 to just after the New Horizons flyby of Pluto. || NewHorizons2015_40AU.NoSTEREO_1080p30.01000_print.jpg (1024x576) [72.7 KB] || NewHorizons2015_40AU.NoSTEREO_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [27.9 MB] || NewHorizons2015_40AU.NoSTEREO_1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [6.6 MB] || NewHorizons2015_40AU.NoSTEREO.3840x2160_p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [82.5 MB] || 5760x3240_16x9_30p (5760x3240) [0 Item(s)] || NoSTEREO (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || space-weather-to-the-edge-of-the-solar-system-hd1080-movie.hwshow [336 bytes] || ", "hits": 64 }, { "id": 4322, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4322/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2015-06-24T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "The Multiple CMEs of June, 2015", "description": "A view of multiple CMEs which erupted from the Sun in the latter half of June 2015. Their trajectories, and potential impacts on Earth and space assets, are propagated with the Enlil model. || 2015June20_high2AU.full.0006_print.jpg (1024x576) [48.8 KB] || 2015June20_high2AU.full.0006_searchweb.png (320x180) [38.5 KB] || 2015June20_high2AU.full.0006_thm.png (80x40) [4.7 KB] || 2015June20_high2AU.full.HD1080.webm (1920x1080) [406.6 KB] || 2015June20_high2AU.full.HD1080.mov (1920x1080) [1.8 MB] || 1920x1080_16x9_10p (1920x1080) [4.0 KB] || ", "hits": 43 }, { "id": 4167, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4167/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2014-07-23T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "The Big CME that Missed Earth", "description": "July of 2012 witnessed the eruption of a very large and fast solar coronal mass ejection (CME) (see NASA STEREO Observes One of the Fastest CMEs On Record and Carrington-class CME Narrowly Misses Earth ). While not directed at Earth, it was sufficiently large that it could have seriously disrupted the global electrical infrastructure. The event did impact STEREO-A of NASA's heliophysics fleet which provided a host of measurements (see Sentinels of the Heliosphere).One of the conditions which contributed to the high speed of this event is that two smaller CMEs were launched a little earlier, and these events cleared out much of the solar wind material, leaving little to slow the outflow of the July 23 event (UTC).In the visualizations below, generated from the Enlil space weather model, green represents particle density, usually protons and other ions. In green, we see the Parker spiral moving out from the sun generated by the sun's current sheet (Wikipedia). Red represents particles at high temperatures and shows the CME is hotter than the usual solar wind flow. Large changes in density are represented in blue. These three colors sometimes combine to tell us more about the characteristics of the event (noted in the 3-color Venn diagram below).However, if this CME had struck Earth's magnetosphere, which has a much stronger magnetic field, the changing magnetic field would induce much larger voltages in systems with long electrical conductors, such as power lines that run over long distances. These significantly higher voltages can damage power transformers. || ", "hits": 186 }, { "id": 4099, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4099/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2013-11-04T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Multiple CMEs of October 2013", "description": "In this research model run, the Sun has launched three coronal mass ejections (CMEs) which may merge into a single front as it expands into the solar system. These events are sometimes called 'cannibal' CMEs.This model run is based on estimated parameters from solar events of October 23-24, 2013 || ", "hits": 46 }, { "id": 4083, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4083/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2013-06-14T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "CMEpalooza: The Complete Series", "description": "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. || ", "hits": 85 }, { "id": 4078, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4078/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2013-05-16T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "CMEpalooza - May 15, 2013", "description": "Active Region 11748 launches another big coronal mass ejection (CME) into the solar system along with X-class flares. See CMEpalooza - May 14, 2013 for the previous event. This is the forecast trajectory from the Community-Coordinated Modeling Center of the CME through the inner solar system. || ", "hits": 19 }, { "id": 4079, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4079/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2013-05-16T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "CMEpalooza - May 14, 2013", "description": "As active Region 11748 rotated into Earth's view over the left limb of the sun it erupted with many large flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Some of the flares were X-class.This event is of particular interest as it launched three CMEs that are expected to merge into a large plasma cloud and continue heading out into the solar system. A few NASA spacecraft were in the path of this event — their operators can put the spacecraft into safe mode for protection when required. || ", "hits": 38 }, { "id": 4064, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4064/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2013-04-12T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "The CME of April 11, 2013", "description": "The CME launched from the Sun on April 11, 2013 was modelled at the Community-Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. These model runs are used for testing various space weather models and for protecting NASA assets (spacecraft AND astronauts) throughout the Solar System.Different colors of a red, green, blue color palette are used to designate different physical variables from the simulation. When the three colors combine, they create a dramatic example of how the coronal mass ejection (CME) is different from the solar wind. || ", "hits": 45 }, { "id": 4058, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4058/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2013-03-27T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Space Weather @ Mars: The CME of March 5, 2013", "description": "These images were produced from a space weather model known as ENLIL named after the Sumerian storm god. It shows the way a coronal mass ejection (CME) on March 5, 2013, was expected to travel. The view on the left is top down, while the one on the right shows Earth from the side.To protect their space assets from excessive radiation, NASA and other organizations research the fundamental processes behind space weather such as CMEs, integrating them into research models, which are run continuously at the Community-Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) at NASA Goddard.When CMEs occur on the sun, models are generated with the best event information available at the time and propagated forward to estimate regions in the solar system that might be affected. The models take about an hour or two to run. The CMEs themselves usually take one or two days to reach other planets or spacecraft.The March 5 CME moved towards Mars and the STEREO-B spacecraft (blue spacecraft icon). This allowed mission operators to take steps to protect STEREO-B as well as spacecraft operating around and on Mars. || ", "hits": 47 }, { "id": 4056, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4056/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2013-03-18T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "The CME of March 15, 2013", "description": "The CME launched from the Sun on March 15, 2013 was modelled at the Community-Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. These model runs are used for testing various space weather models and for protecting NASA assets (spacecraft AND astronauts) throughout the Solar System.Different colors of a red, green, blue color palette are used to designate different physical variables from the simulation. When the three colors combine, they create a dramatic example of how the coronal mass ejection (CME) is different from the solar wind. || ", "hits": 30 }, { "id": 4031, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4031/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2013-01-21T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "First Earth-Directed CME of 2013", "description": "On Jan. 13, 2013, at 2:24 a.m. EST, the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME. Not to be confused with a solar flare, a CME is a solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and reach Earth one to three days later.Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and the ESA/NASA mission the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, show that the CME left the sun at speeds of 275 miles per second. This is a fairly typical speed for CMEs, though much slower than the fastest ones, which can be almost ten times that speed.This visualization is constructed from a computer model run of the January 13, 2013 CME. The preliminary CME parameters were measured from instruments on the STEREO (the red and blue satellite icons) and SDO (in Earth orbit) satellites. The Enlil model was used to propagate those parameters through the solar system. From this model, they can estimate the strength and time of arrival of the CME at various locations around the solar system. This allows other missions to either safe-mode their satellites for protection, or allow them to conduct measurements to test the accuracy of the model.When Earth-directed, CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they successfully connect up with the outside of the Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. In the past, CMEs of this speed have not caused substantial geomagnetic storms. They have caused auroras near the poles but are unlikely to affect electrical systems on Earth or interfere with GPS or satellite-based communications systems.Two active regions — named AR 11652 and AR 11654 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — have produced four low-level M-class flares since Jan. 11. Solar flares are powerful bursts of light and 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. M-class flares are the weakest flares that can still cause some space weather effects near Earth. The recent flares caused weak radio blackouts and their effects have already subsided.NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center is the United States Government official source for space weather forecasts. || ", "hits": 55 }, { "id": 4010, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4010/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2012-12-20T09:00:00-05:00", "title": "Space Weather Research: The CME of March 2012", "description": "Forecasting space weather is of vital importance in protecting NASA assets around the solar system. For this reason, NASA routinely tests various space weather models at the Community-Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC).This visualization is constructed from a computer model run of a coronal mass ejection (CME) launched from the sun in early March, 2012. The preliminary CME parameters were measured from instruments on the STEREO (the red and blue satellite icons) and SDO (in Earth orbit) satellites. The Enlil model was used to propagate those parameters through the solar system. From this model, they can estimate the strength and time of arrival of the CME at various locations around the solar system. This allows other missions to either safe-mode their satellites for protection, or allow them to conduct measurements to test the accuracy of the model. || ", "hits": 66 }, { "id": 3551, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3551/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2012-09-01T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "The Coronal Mass Ejection strikes the Earth!", "description": "This visualization is the sequel to animation ID 3867.The CME we saw before continues to expand from the Sun, and its outer boundary is approaching the Earth. Will the Earth be pummeled like its sister planet, Venus?Not this time, for the Earth has a fairly strong geomagnetic field.The geomagnetic field helps deflect the incoming blast of solar particles around the Earth, dramatically reducing the impact of the event.It is important to note that the flowing material of the CME are actually ions and electrons far too small to see. This visualization tries to represent the motions of these tiny particle in a form large enough for us to see.Technical DetailsThis is the dome show component where the CME strikes the Earth.The domemaster format was created by rendering 7 separate camera tiles. The tiles were then stitched together to form final domemaster layers at 4096x4096 resolution and 16 bits per channel with premultiplied alpha and no gamma correction. There are 2 domemaster layers that should be composited as follows:- Earth, Sun and particles- star field (no alpha channel)In addition to the final domemaster frames and movies, the individual camera tiles are included as well. Each domemaster layer has a set of camera tiles. There are 7 cameras numbered 00 through 06 that represent the itiles. Camera 00 is in the center of the domemaster, camera 01 is looking below camera 00, cameras 01 through 06 look around the outside of the dome master in counter-clockwise order. These frames are probably only useful if a better re-stitching algorithm is ever required to be run on the tiles. || ", "hits": 185 }, { "id": 3867, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3867/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2012-09-01T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "A Coronal Mass Ejection strikes Venus!", "description": "Energetic events on the Sun have impacts throughout the Solar System. This visualization, developed for the \"Dynamic Earth\" dome show, opens with a closeup view of the Sun. The solar imagery was collected from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) using an ultraviolet filter (wavelength 304 Ångstroms or 30.4 nanometers). We can observe jets of ionized gases, called prominences, erupting from the solar surface, and often constrained to loop-shaped trajectories due to the solar magnetic field.We pull out from the Sun to reveal the solar wind, which continuously streams outward from the Sun.We eventually reach the orbit of the planet Venus, the solar wind still streaming around us.But a massive eruption, called a coronal mass ejection, or CME, takes place on the Sun, sending a much higher density of particles (ions and electrons) outward into the solar wind.The wave of particles eventually strikes the planet Venus. But Venus has no significant magnetic field, and the particles make it directly to the atmosphere of the planet. These energetic solar events slowly blow away the atmosphere of the planet.The next part of this sequence is \"The Coronal Mass Ejection strikes the Earth!\".Technical DetailsThis is the dome show component moving from the Sun to Venus being hit by the CME.The domemaster format was created by rendering 7 separate camera tiles. The tiles were then stitched together to form final domemaster layers at 4096x4096 resolution and 16 bits per channel with premultiplied alpha and no gamma correction. There are 3 domemaster layers that should be composited as follows:- Earth and orbits- Sun- star field (no alpha channel)In addition to the final domemaster frames and movies, the individual camera tiles are included as well. Each domemaster layer has a set of camera tiles. There are 7 cameras numbered 00 through 06 that represent the itiles. Camera 00 is in the center of the domemaster, camera 01 is looking below camera 00, cameras 01 through 06 look around the outside of the dome master in counter-clockwise order. These frames are probably only useful if a better re-stitching algorithm is ever required to be run on the tiles. || ", "hits": 74 }, { "id": 11003, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11003/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2012-06-19T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Excerpt from \"Dynamic Earth\"", "description": "A giant explosion of magnetic energy from the sun, called a coronal mass ejection, slams into and is deflected completely by the Earth's powerful magnetic field. The sun also continually sends out streams of light and radiation energy. Earth's atmosphere acts like a radiation shield, blocking quite a bit of this energy.Much of the radiation energy that makes it through is reflected back into space by clouds, ice and snow and the energy that remains helps to drive the Earth system, powering a remarkable planetary engine — the climate. It becomes the energy that feeds swirling wind and ocean currents as cold air and surface waters move toward the equator and warm air and water moves toward the poles — all in an attempt to equalize temperatures around the world.A jury appointed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Science magazine has selected \"Excerpt from Dynamic Earth\" as the winner of the 2013 NSF International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge for the Video category. This animation will be highlighted in the February 2014 special section of Science and will be hosted on ScienceMag.org and NSF.govThis animation was selected for the Computer Animation Festival's Electronic Theater at the Association for Computer Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH), a prestigious computer graphics and technical research forum. This is an excerpt from the fulldome, high-resolution show 'Dynamic Earth: Exploring Earth's Climate Engine.' The Dynamic Earth dome show was selected as a finalist in the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Science Media Awards under the category \"Best Immersive Cinema - Fulldome\". || ", "hits": 132 }, { "id": 3902, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3902/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2012-01-24T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "A Coronal Mass Ejection strikes the Earth!", "description": "Energetic events on the Sun have impacts throughout the Solar System. This visualization, developed for the Dynamic Earth dome show, utilizes data from space weather models based on a real coronal mass ejection (CME) event from mid-December 2003. Particles are used to represent the flow of solar material from the Sun around the Earth. It is important to note that the flowing material of the CME are actually ions and electrons far too small to see. This visualization tries to represent the motions of these tiny particles in a form large enough for us to see. We open with a close-up view of the Earth, the particles representing the solar wind streaming around the Earth due to extended influence of the Earth's magnetic field. We pull out from the Earth and move so that we see the Sun in the distance. The enormous density enhancement in the solar wind is the coronal mass ejection. As the CME reaches the Earth, we see how effective the Earth's magnetic field is at diverting the solar material around the Earth. As the CME passes, we move earthward, and reveal the field lines representing the Earth's magnetic field, emanating from the magnetic poles and blown behind the Earth due to the influence of the solar wind. For simplicity, we have represented the Earth's magnetic field as unchanging, but it is actually very dynamic in its response to a CME or other change in the solar wind. || ", "hits": 200 }, { "id": 3740, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3740/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-07-08T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Space Weather Event: The View from L1", "description": "We start from a position 'behind' the Earth, looking towards the Sun. From this position we see the orbit of the Moon as well as three of the heliospheric 'sentinels' (see \"Sentinels of the Heliosphere\"), ACE, SOHO, and Wind patrolling along 'halo orbits' (Wikipedia) around the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point, L1.The CME (orange isosurface) erupts, heading towards the Earth. The density enhancement of the CME is visible in slice of data in the Earth's orbit plane which provides a better sense of when the CME actually reaches the Earth.As the particle density enhancement from the CME strikes the Earth, we see the Earth's magnetosphere respond, with the outer, high density surface (red), 'blown away'. This surface location corresponds roughly to the location of the bow shock. The bow shock has not been eliminated, only some of its particles have been depleted, to be carried off in the CME and solar wind. As the densest material of the CME passes (orange surface), plasma from the CME continues to flow by the Earth, stretching the magnetosphere into a long, thin structure behind the Earth.The magnetosphere slowly recovers from the 'impact', and regions that can confine higher particle densities reform - the red surfaces return. But not for long as the rarefaction behind the CME reaches the Earth. This lower density region provides fewer particles to repopulate the magnetosphere and make it easier for particles confined in the magnetosphere to 'leak' out into the solar wind.For the BATS-R-US model, the isosurface colors are: red=20 AMUs per cubic centimeter, yellow=10.0 AMUs per cubic centimeter, light blue=1.0 AMUs per cubic centimeter, and blue=0.1 AMUs per cubic centimeter. An AMU corresponds to about the mass of a hydrogen atom, the dominant component of the solar wind.This visualization is part of a series of visualizations on space weather modeling. || ", "hits": 32 }, { "id": 3741, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3741/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-07-08T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Space Weather Event: The View from Above", "description": "We open with a view from high above the ecliptic plane, at the space between the Sun (left) and the Earth (within the small rectangular box on the right). In the plane of the Earth's orbit, we show a 'slice' of the Enlil model showing the particle density profile of the solar wind (white to yellow for decreasing particle density). The spiral 'rotating water sprinkler' pattern in the density is the Parker spiral (Wikipedia). The CME (orange surface) erupts in the direction of the Earth. The orange surface represents a boundary of common pressure differences, which better identifies sharp transitions in pressure common in shocks fronts. The CME clears out particles in the region behind it, called a rarefaction (Wikipedia), visible in the particle density.This visualization is part of a series of visualizations on space weather modeling. || ", "hits": 32 }, { "id": 3742, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3742/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-07-08T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Space Weather Event: A View from the Orbit Plane", "description": "We start with a view of the space between the Sun (left) and the Earth (within the small rectangular box on the right), slightly above the ecliptic plane. In the plane of the Earth's orbit, we show a 'slice' of the particle density profile of the solar wind (white to yellow for decreasing particle density). Perpendicular to this, we have another 'slice' of particle density from the Enlil model. The Enlil model extends to 60 degrees above and below the solar equator, and beyond 20 solar radii from the Sun. This gap creates the 'hourglass' empty region around the Sun.The CME (orange surface) erupts in the direction of the Earth. The orange surface represents a boundary of common pressure differences, which better identifies sharp transitions in pressure common in shocks fronts. The CME clears out particles in the region behind it, called a rarefaction (Wikipedia), visible in the particle density.This visualization is part of a series of visualizations on space weather modeling. || ", "hits": 46 }, { "id": 3743, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3743/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-07-08T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Space Weather Event: Close-up on the Earth Environment", "description": "We open with a view from high above the ecliptic plane, at the space between the Sun (left) and the Earth (within the small rectangular box on the right). In the plane of the Earth's orbit, we show a 'slice' of the Enlil model showing the particle density profile of the solar wind (white to yellow for decreasing particle density). The spiral 'rotating water sprinkler' pattern in the density is the Parker spiral (Wikipedia). We zoom down to the Earth as the CME (orange surface) erupts in the direction of the Earth and move into a position above the Earth's orbital plane with the Earth (geospace) environment in view.As the particle density enhancement from the CME strikes the Earth, we see the Earth's magnetosphere respond, with the outer, high density surface (red) 'blown away'. This surface location corresponds roughly to the location of the bow shock. The bow shock has not been eliminated, only some of its particles have been depleted, to be carried off in the CME and solar wind. As the densest material of the CME passes (orange surface), plasma from the CME continues to flow by the Earth, stretching the magnetosphere into a long, thin structure behind the Earth.The magnetosphere slowly recovers from the 'impact', and regions that can confine higher particle densities reform - the red surfaces return. But not for long as the rarefaction (Wikipedia) behind the CME reaches the Earth. This lower density region provides fewer particles to repopulate the magnetosphere and makes it easier for particles confined in the magnetosphere to 'leak' out into the solar wind.For the BATS-R-US model, the isosurface colors are: red=20 AMUs per cubic centimeter, yellow=10.0 AMUs per cubic centimeter, light blue=1.0 AMUs per cubic centimeter, and blue=0.1 AMUs per cubic centimeter. An AMU corresponds to about the mass of a hydrogen atom, the dominant component of the solar wind.This visualization is part of a series of visualizations on space weather modeling. || ", "hits": 36 }, { "id": 3739, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3739/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2010-07-06T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Space Weather Event: Incoming View", "description": "We open with a view from high above the ecliptic plane, at the space between the Sun (left) and the Earth (within the small rectangular box on the right). In the plane of the Earth's orbit, we show a 'slice' of the Enlil model showing the particle density profile of the solar wind (white to yellow for decreasing particle density). The spiral 'rotating water sprinkler' pattern in the density is the Parker spiral (Wikipedia). The nested grid pattern centered on the Earth, provides a sense of scale to the scene. The smallest grid square in the opening view is 1,000 Earth radii on each side. The scale changes by a factor of ten for each step larger or smaller in size.We zoom down to the Earth as the CME (orange surface) erupts in the direction of the Earth, then move into a position behind the Earth with the Sun visible in the distance.As the particle density enhancement from the CME strikes the Earth, we see the Earth's magnetosphere respond, with the outer, high density surface (red) 'blown away'. This surface location corresponds roughly to the location of the bow shock. The bow shock has not been eliminated, only some of its particles have been depleted, to be carried off in the CME and solar wind. As the densest material of the CME passes (orange surface), plasma from the CME continues to flow by the Earth, stretching the magnetosphere into a long, thin structure behind the Earth.The magnetosphere slowly recovers from the 'impact', and regions that can confine higher particle densities reform - the red surfaces return. But not for long as the rarefaction (Wikipedia) behind the CME reaches the Earth. This lower density region provides fewer particles to repopulate the magnetosphere and makes it easier for particles confined in the magnetosphere to 'leak' out into the solar wind.For the BATS-R-US model, the isosurface colors correpond to densities of: red=20 AMUs per cubic centimeter, yellow=10.0 AMUs per cubic centimeter, light blue=1.0 AMUs per cubic centimeter, and blue=0.1 AMUs per cubic centimeter. An AMU corresponds to about the mass of a hydrogen atom, so the value roughly corresponds to the number of atoms per cubic centimeter.This visualization is part of a series of visualizations on space weather modeling. || ", "hits": 52 } ] }