Sun  ID: 11187

First Sighting

Story by Karen Fox Released on February 28, 2013
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Scientists witness the formation of a solar flux rope.
On July 18, 2012, scientists were able to watch for the first time the very formation of something they had long theorized was at the heart of many eruptive events on the sun: a flux rope. These magnetic loops form in the sun's atmosphere and are invisible to the naked eye. Using an ultraviolet telescope aboard NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), scientists were able to view these structures as hot plasma traced out their shape just prior to a coronal mass ejection (CME). The observation solved the long-unanswered question whether flux ropes form before or during a CME eruption. Watch the videos to see how a flux rope forms and to learn more about this event.
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Flux ropes are only visible in extreme ultraviolet light at 131
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Spotting flux ropes on the sun could help scientists develop ways to predict CME eruptions. Learn more by watching this video.
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This SDO image has been processed to highlight the edge of each loop that makes up a flux rope.
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Flux ropes can be seen only in SDO images that show the very hottest material on the sun.
 

Related Story

SDO Provides First Sightings of How a CME Forms

For More Information

NASA.gov

Story Credits

Visualizers/Animators:
Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
Scott Wiessinger (USRA)

Video Editor:
Scott Wiessinger (USRA)

Narrator:
Scott Wiessinger (USRA)

Producer:
Scott Wiessinger (USRA)

Lead Scientist:
Angelos Vourlidas (NRL)

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

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Flux rope video courtesy of NASA/SDO/Vourlidas
Images courtesy of NASA/GSFC/SDO

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11187

Keywords:
DLESE >> Narrated
SVS >> App
NASA Science >> Sun