SOHO MDI Continuum Latest Image
On August 7th (1825 UT), magnetic fields around sunspot 1093 became unstable and erupted, producing a strong M1-class solar flare. Several amateur astronomers caught the active region in mid-flare, while NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded an extreme ultraviolet movie of the entire event:
The eruption hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space, just missing a direct sun-Earth line. Forecasters expect the cloud to deliver no more than a glancing blow to our planet’s magnetic field when it billows by on August 9th or 10th–not be a major space weather event.
Future eruptions could turn out differently. Active region 1093 is rotating toward Earth. By the end of this weekend, we’ll be in the line of fire if its magnetic fields become unstable again.
Visit http://spaceweather.com for audio recordings and movies of this latest solar event.
SOHO MDI Continuum Latest Image
