Sun  ID: 11593

Sun Burst

Story by Max Gleber Released on August 7, 2014
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A NASA spacecraft records a magnificent solar eruption.
On May 27, 2014, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, spacecraft captured a burst of superheated gas, called plasma, gushing from the sun. Such eruptions happen frequently and result from the dynamic magnetic field lines that extend into the sun's atmosphere. Each event can release a huge amount of energy and send streams of million-degree plasma soaring outward. The ejected material either escapes the sun’s gravitational pull and ripples through space or falls back toward the surface. On this occasion, a river of plasma was seen rising and descending above the sun’s limb over a period of two hours. Watch the video to see the event unfold.
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See up-close views of a plasma explosion in this video.
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Plasma launches from the sun in this image taken by SDO in December 2013.
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SDO captured this image of a gigantic wave of plasma shooting across the sun’s atmosphere in February 2011.
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Plasma stretches high above the sun’s disk in this image taken by SDO in September 2013.

Story Credits

Lead Writer:
Max Gleber (NASA/GSFC)

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

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11593

Keywords:
SVS >> App
NASA Science >> Sun