Arching Eruption

  • Released Thursday, July 9, 2015
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A NASA spacecraft sees the sun unleash a stunning explosion.

A NASA spacecraft sees the sun unleash a stunning explosion.

On June 18, 2015, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, spacecraft observed an arching eruption on the sun. The eruption ultimately escaped the sun's gravity, growing into a substantial coronal mass ejection—a giant cloud of solar material traveling through space. The spacecraft, which watches the sun constantly, captured images of the event in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths. The images allow scientists to track the movement of material released from the sun and into space where, if directed toward Earth, it can affect electronics on satellites, GPS communications or even utility grids on the ground. Watch the video to see the event unfold.

This time-lapse video shows multiple views of the eruption taken over four hours by NASA's SDO spacecraft.

The eruption shot up a cloud of solar material from the sun’s surface.

The eruption shot up a cloud of solar material from the sun’s surface.

This image highlights solar material at temperatures of 1,000,000°F being lifted into the sun’s atmosphere.

This image highlights solar material at temperatures of 1,000,000°F being lifted into the sun’s atmosphere.

SDO observed the eruption over the sun’s lower right limb.

SDO observed the eruption over the sun’s lower right limb.

Credits

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

This page was originally published on Thursday, July 9, 2015.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:49 PM EDT.

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