Two colossal plasma fountains tore away from the sun in a breathtaking double blast, one of the most impressive eruptions this solar cycle.
On August 20, sun erupted with phenomenal solar prominence events that could be the solar cycle’s most stunning occurrences.
First came a colossal eruption off the sun’s southeastern limb, caught in stunning detail by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and NOAA’s GOES-SUVI instrument.
Another aurora chaser, Vincent Ledvina, was equally stunned, remarking: “Good God look at this gorgeous prominence eruption… one of the best I’ve seen ever.”
Solar physicist Ryan French added, “A stunning eruption of filament plasma from the sun this morning! This size of event can cause strong aurora activity if directed towards Earth, but alas-this one was not.”
The massive solar blast launched a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space, which was captured by the SOHO spacecraft’s LASCO coronagraph.
Luckily, the CME’s trajectory is heading away from Earth, sparing our planet from potential impact.
Space weather forecaster Sara Housseal shared this view showing the CME firing out to the southeast east, she wrote in a post on X, “the Sun said none for you.”
Atanackov shared LASCO coronagraph footage of the same blast, marveling: “It has been such a long time since we have seen a beautiful CME like this one. What a beauty… look at that internal structure!”
Still, the sheer scale of the event, with giant arcs of plasma looping high above the solar limb before breaking free, makes it a breathtaking spectacle in recent solar activity.
The sun’s activity persisted, with a second powerful eruption occurring on the northeastern limb, as observed by SDO and GOES-SUVI.
Another CME was launched, and SOHO’s observations showed it racing outward into space.
Solar prominences are gigantic, magnetic-field-tethered loops of scorching plasma that burst forth from the sun’s surface, sometimes stretching hundreds of thousands of miles into space.
When these hot plasma eruptions lose stability, the contained material can explosively release as a coronal mass ejection (CME), as per NASA.
Space weather fans are buzzing over the stunning twin solar eruptions, which showcase the sun’s magnetic fields sculpting vast plasma fountains in exquisite detail, even if Earth won’t get to see the auroral fireworks.