January 31, 2013 CME and Prominence Eruption

  • Released Thursday, January 31, 2013
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On Jan. 31, 2013 at 2:09am EST, the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME. Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and ESA/NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, show that the CME left the sun at speeds of around 575 miles per second, which is a fairly typical speed for CMEs. Historically, CMEs at this speed are mild.

Not to be confused with a solar flare, a CME is a solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and reach Earth one to three days later.

Earth-directed CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they connect with the outside of the Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. In the past, CME's such as this have caused auroras near the poles but didn't disrupt electrical systems on Earth or interfere with GPS or satellite-based communications systems.

The CME included a large prominence eruption most visible in light with a wavelength of 304 angstroms. SDO captured this footage from 3:00 to 9:00 Universal Time. In this video, the imaging cadence is one frame every 36 seconds.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured these image of a coronal mass ejection (CME), erupting on the left side of the sun early in the morning of Jan 31, 2013, as it was moving away from the sun into space. These images from SOHO are called coronagraphs, in which the bright light of the sun is blocked in order to make the dimmer structures in the sun's atmosphere, or corona, visible. Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured these image of a coronal mass ejection (CME), erupting on the left side of the sun early in the morning of Jan 31, 2013, as it was moving away from the sun into space. These images from SOHO are called coronagraphs, in which the bright light of the sun is blocked in order to make the dimmer structures in the sun's atmosphere, or corona, visible.

Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured these image of a coronal mass ejection (CME), erupting on the left side of the sun early in the morning of Jan 31, 2013, as it was moving away from the sun into space. These images from SOHO are called coronagraphs, in which the bright light of the sun is blocked in order to make the dimmer structures in the sun's atmosphere, or corona, visible. No Labels.Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured these image of a coronal mass ejection (CME), erupting on the left side of the sun early in the morning of Jan 31, 2013, as it was moving away from the sun into space. These images from SOHO are called coronagraphs, in which the bright light of the sun is blocked in order to make the dimmer structures in the sun's atmosphere, or corona, visible. No Labels.

Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO

SOHO LASCO C3 image of CME.

SOHO LASCO C3 image of CME.

Solar Dynamics Observatory AIA instrument imagery at 304 angstrom wavelength. This group contains a 4096x4096 pixel Apple ProRes video, and 4096x4096 frames.

For More Information

See http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News013113-cme.html

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO

This page was originally published on Thursday, January 31, 2013.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:52 PM EDT.

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  • 2013 Heliophysics Breaking News (ID: 2013021)
    Tuesday, December 31, 2013 at 5:00AM
    Produced by - Robert Crippen (NASA)

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