By SANDY ANDERSON
A solar eruption gracefully rose up from the sun on December
31, 2012. The eruption extended about 160,000 miles out from the sun.
A massive eruption on the surface of the sun
last week blasted out a wave of super-hot plasma so high that it could tower
over 20 Earths, NASA officials say.
The New Year's Eve solar eruption occurred on Monday
December 31, 2012 and was captured on camera by NASA's powerful Solar Dynamics
Observatory, a sun-watching spacecraft that constantly records high-definition
video of our star. The result: an eye-popping video of the New Year's Eve sun
storm.
Despite its size, the solar eruption was not the
most powerful example of the sun's stormy wrath, NASA officials said.
"Magnetic forces drove the flow of plasma,
but without sufficient force to overcome the sun's gravity much of the plasma
fell back into the sun," NASA officials wrote in an image description
today (January 4, 2013). "The length of the eruption extends about 160,000
miles [257,495 kilometres] out from the sun. With Earth about 7,900 miles
[12,714 km] in diameter, this relatively minor eruption is about 20 times the
diameter of our planet."
Some NASA officials described Monday's sun
eruption, which occurred over a four-hour period, as a solar ballet. The Solar
Dynamics Observatory is one of several spacecraft that keep a constant watch on
the sun for flare and storm activity.
The sun is currently in an active phase of its
11-year solar activity cycle and is expected to reach its peak level later this
year. However, NASA scientists have said that the peak of the current cycle,
known as Solar Cycle 24, may be the lowest of its kind in a century.
Solar flares and eruptions can have a
significant impact on Earth when they are aimed at the planet. The most
powerful solar flares can interfere with satellite communications, pose a
safety risk for astronauts in orbit and damage power system infrastructure on
the planet's surface.
Minor solar storms can also trigger amazing
geomagnetic storms above Earth that supercharge the planet's aurora displays
above its poles.
Original Source: NASA
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