Sun  ID: 12336

Solar Fireworks

Story by Karen Fox Released on August 11, 2016
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A NASA spacecraft records a trio of flares on the sun.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. During flares, a large amount of magnetic energy is released, heating the sun’s atmosphere and sending energized particles out into space. On July 22-23, 2016, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory observed three solar flares erupt in relatively quick succession. To the spacecraft’s high-resolution imaging telescopes, the flares appeared as bright flashes on the right side of the sun. The sun is currently in a period of low activity, moving toward what's called solar minimum when there are few to no solar eruptions. Although the flares are categorized as mid-strength, or M-class, flares, which are substantially less intense than the most powerful X-class flares, they were the first large ones seen since April 2016. Watch the video for views of the event.
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This video shows images of three solar flares captured in different wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light by the Solar Dynamics Observatory.
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The first solar flare (shown above) peaked at 10:11 pm EDT on July 22, 2016.
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The second—and strongest—solar flare (shown above) peaked at 1:16 am EDT on July 23, 2016.
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The final solar flare (shown above) peaked at 1:31 am EDT on July 23, 2016.
 

Source Material

SDO Sees Trio of Mid-Level Flares

For More Information

NASA.gov

Story Credits

Lead Producer:
Genna Duberstein (USRA)

Lead Project Support:
Swarupa Nune (InuTeq)

Lead Writer:
Karen Fox (ADNET Systems, Inc.)

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/12336

Keywords:
SVS >> App
NASA Science >> Sun