By
Ellie Zolfagharifard
The curtain of radiation, which erupted on May 9, was the first coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or Iris.
The footage reveals the CME in ‘extraordinary detail’ showing a field of view about five Earths wide and seven-and-a-half Earths tall.
Material from a coronal mass ejection takes two to three days to reach Earth, but in this case, the coronal mass ejection didn't affect our planet.
Coronal mass ejections interact with Earth’s magnetic field to generate auroras and magnetic storms.
The CME's magnetic fields peel back the outermost layers of Earth's fields changing their very shape, distortions which can can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected surges in power grids.
They also can cause aurora. Storms are rare during solar minimum, but as the sun nears solar maximum, large storms occur several times per year.
‘We focus in on active regions to try to see a flare or a CME,’ said Bart De Pontieu, the Iris science lead at Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory in California.
And then we wait and hope that we'll catch something. This is the first clear CME for Iris so the team is very excited.’
During a CME, changes in the sun’s magnetic fields cause a large section of the surface of the sun to expand rapidly, ejecting billions of tonnes of particles out into space.
Material from a coronal mass ejection takes two to three days to reach Earth, peeling back the outermost layers of the planet’s magnetic field.
CME’s can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected surges in power grids. However, this CME is not thought to have made a significant impact on Earth.
CME’s often accompany a solar flare – a solar eruption that pushes out waves of light all across the spectrum.
Iris can observe both types of eruption. It was launched in June 2013 to study what's known as the interface region, which is a layer between the sun's surface the corona that has long baffled scientists.
Astronauts are not in immediate danger because of the relatively low orbit of this manned mission. They do have to be concerned about cumulative exposure during space walks.
The charged particles can also threaten airlines by disturbing the Earth’s magnetic field.
Very large flares can even create currents within electricity grids and knock out energy supplies.
A positive aspect, from an aesthetic point of view, is that the auroras are enhanced.
Geomagnetic storms are more disruptive now than in the past because of our greater dependence on technical systems that can be affected by electric currents.
The line moving across the middle of the movie is the entrance slit for Iris’ spectrograph, an instrument that can split light into its many wavelengths – a technique that ultimately allows scientists to measure temperature, velocity and density of the solar material behind the slit.
While the strength of this CME is yet to be revealed, it follows on the heels of the most powerful type of solar flare that’s ever been recorded by the space agency.
The huge event on the sun occurred on 29 March 2014, but Nasa has only now analysed the data from their fleet of observatories.
This fleet consisted of four telescopes in space and one observatory on Earth.
The flare observed was an X-class flare, the biggest and highest-energy solar flares that have ever been observed.
- The huge curtain of solar radiation erupted on May 9 but didn't affect Earth
- It was the first ever coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by the Iris probe
- During a CME, changes in sun’s magnetic fields can cause a section of the solar surface to expand, ejecting billions of tonnes of particles into space
- CMEs can disrupt communication signals and cause surges in power grids
The curtain of radiation, which erupted on May 9, was the first coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or Iris.
The footage reveals the CME in ‘extraordinary detail’ showing a field of view about five Earths wide and seven-and-a-half Earths tall.
HOW DO CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS IMPACT EARTH?
CMEs are a mass of charged particles and magnetic field energy that bursts from the sun like a volcanic eruption.Material from a coronal mass ejection takes two to three days to reach Earth, but in this case, the coronal mass ejection didn't affect our planet.
Coronal mass ejections interact with Earth’s magnetic field to generate auroras and magnetic storms.
The CME's magnetic fields peel back the outermost layers of Earth's fields changing their very shape, distortions which can can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected surges in power grids.
They also can cause aurora. Storms are rare during solar minimum, but as the sun nears solar maximum, large storms occur several times per year.
‘We focus in on active regions to try to see a flare or a CME,’ said Bart De Pontieu, the Iris science lead at Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory in California.
And then we wait and hope that we'll catch something. This is the first clear CME for Iris so the team is very excited.’
During a CME, changes in the sun’s magnetic fields cause a large section of the surface of the sun to expand rapidly, ejecting billions of tonnes of particles out into space.
Material from a coronal mass ejection takes two to three days to reach Earth, peeling back the outermost layers of the planet’s magnetic field.
CME’s can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected surges in power grids. However, this CME is not thought to have made a significant impact on Earth.
CME’s often accompany a solar flare – a solar eruption that pushes out waves of light all across the spectrum.
Iris can observe both types of eruption. It was launched in June 2013 to study what's known as the interface region, which is a layer between the sun's surface the corona that has long baffled scientists.
HOW DO FLARES AFFECT US?
Solar flares can damage satellites and have an enormous financial cost.Astronauts are not in immediate danger because of the relatively low orbit of this manned mission. They do have to be concerned about cumulative exposure during space walks.
The charged particles can also threaten airlines by disturbing the Earth’s magnetic field.
Very large flares can even create currents within electricity grids and knock out energy supplies.
A positive aspect, from an aesthetic point of view, is that the auroras are enhanced.
Geomagnetic storms are more disruptive now than in the past because of our greater dependence on technical systems that can be affected by electric currents.
The line moving across the middle of the movie is the entrance slit for Iris’ spectrograph, an instrument that can split light into its many wavelengths – a technique that ultimately allows scientists to measure temperature, velocity and density of the solar material behind the slit.
While the strength of this CME is yet to be revealed, it follows on the heels of the most powerful type of solar flare that’s ever been recorded by the space agency.
The huge event on the sun occurred on 29 March 2014, but Nasa has only now analysed the data from their fleet of observatories.
This fleet consisted of four telescopes in space and one observatory on Earth.
The flare observed was an X-class flare, the biggest and highest-energy solar flares that have ever been observed.
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