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Earth-Directed CME of August 21, 2013
Credit: NASA/ESA SOHO
On August 21, 2013 at 1:24 am EDT, the Sun erupted with another Earth-directed coronal mass ejection, or CME, a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of particles into space and reach Earth one to three days later. [Read the Full Story Here]
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NASA Spacecraft Capture an Earth Directed Coronal Mass Ejection
Credit: ESA & NASA/SOHO
The SOHO LASCO C2 instrument captured this image of the Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME. SOHO's coronographs are able to take images of the solar corona by blocking the light coming directly from the Sun with an occulter disk. The location of the sun is indicated by the white circle. Image obtained on August 20, 2013. [Read the Full Story on the Aug. 20 Solar Storm]
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Earth-Directed CME of August 20, 2013
Credit: ESA & NASA/SOHO
The SOHO LASCO C3 instrument captured this coronographic image of the Earth-directed CME. Notice how the CME appears as a halo around the sun. This is indicative of an Earth-directed event. Image obtained August 20, 2013. [Read the Full Story on the Aug. 20 Solar Storm]
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Solar Fireworks: Sun Flare of July 3, 2013
Credit: NASA/SDO
The sun unleashed an M1.5-class solar flare (lower left) on July 3, 2013, a solar fireworks to the traditional Fourth of July holiday in the United States. [Read the Full Story]
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X1.7-Solar Flare of May 12, 2013: Full Disk
Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA
The sun erupted with an X1.7-class solar flare on May 12, 2013. The flare appears as the bright point on the left of the sun in this full disk view NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. It is a blend of two images of the sun recorded at different wavelengths of light. [Full story.]
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Mother's Day Solar Flare Closeup: X1.7 Sun Storm
Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA
A close-up of an an X1.7-class solar flare on May 12, 2013 as seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. [Read the full story.]
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Video Still of X1.7-Class Solar Flare of May 13, 2013
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
A video still shows the X1.7-class solar flare of May 13, 2013. [Read the full story.]
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X1.7-Class Solar Flare on May 13, 2013
Credit: Camilla_SDO (via Twitter)
An X1.7-class solar flare erupted from the sun on May 12, 2013. Here, the Solar Dynamics Laboratory has captured it on May 13. [Full story.]
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Sun Emits Mid-Level Flare
Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an M5.7-class flare on May 3, 2013, at 1:30 p.m. EDT. This image shows light in the 131-angstrom wavelength, a wavelength of light that can show material at the very hot temperatures of a solar flare and that is typically colorized in teal. [Read the full story.]
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SDO 304 Angstrom Image of Prominence Eruption on the Same Day as the X1.7-Class Solar Flare
Credit: SDO/AIA
SDO 304 Angstrom image of prominence eruption on the sun at the same time as the X1.7-class solar flare on May 13, 2013. [Read the full story.]
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SDO 304 Angstrom Image of Prominence Eruption (Cropped) on the Same Day as the X1.7-Class Solar Flare
Credit: SDO/AIA
SDO 304 Angstrom image of prominence eruption on the sun at the same time as the X1.7-class solar flare on May 13, 2013 (cropped). [Read the full story.]
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Prominence Eruption
Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA
A burst of solar material leaps off the left side of the sun in what’s known as a prominence eruption. This image combines three images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured on May 3, 2013, at 1:45 pm EDT, just as an M-class solar flare from the same region was subsiding. The images include light from the 131-, 171- and 304-angstrom wavelengths. [Read the Full Story]
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Solar Eruption of May 3, 2013
Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA
A burst of solar material leaps off the left side of the sun in what’s known as a prominence eruption. This image combines three images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured on May 3, 2013, at 1:45 pm EDT. [Read the full story.]
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Gigantic Rolling Wave Captured on the Sun
Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO
coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted from just around the edge of the sun on May 1, 2013, in a gigantic rolling wave. CMEs can shoot over a billion tons of particles into space at over a million miles per hour. This CME occurred on the sun’s limb and is not headed toward Earth. [Read the Full Story]
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Coronal Mass Ejection on April 21, 2013
Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO
The third coronal mass ejection in two days erupted off the sun in the direction of Mercury on April 21, 2013, at 12:39 p.m. EDT (1639 GMT). This image of the CME, shown shooting off the right side of the image, was capture by the joint ESA and NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The sun is blocked in this image so its brightness doesn’t obscure the solar atmosphere, the corona. [Full Story]
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Coronal Mass Ejection Headed Toward Mercury
Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO
This image of a coronal mass ejection (CME) was captured on April 20, 2013. The CME is headed in the direction of Mercury. The large bright spot on the left is Venus. [Full Story]
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Sun Unleashes X1.7-Class Solar Flare: 5/12/13
Credit: NASA/SDO
This image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows a colossal X1.7-class solar flare erupting from the sun at 10:17 p.m. EDT on May 12, 2013 (Mother's Day). It is the strongest solar flare of 2013 so far. [Read the Full Story]
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Mother's Day Solar Flare Closeup: X1.7 Sun Storm
Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA
A close-up of an an X1.7-class solar flare on May 12, 2013 as seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. [Read the full story.]
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May 13, 2013 Coronal Mass Ejection
Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO
SOHO LASCO C2 image of the May 13, 2013 associated coronal mass ejection. [Read the full story.]
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Strong Solar Flare: April 11, 2013
Credit: NASA/SDO
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a powerful M6.5 class flare, the strongest of 2013 at the time, at 3:16 EDT on April 11, 2013. This image shows a combination of light in wavelengths of 131 and 171 Angstroms. [Full Story]
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Strong Solar Flare: April 11, 2013 - Full Disk
Credit: NASA/SDO
This full-disk view of the sun was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on April 11, 2013, during the strongest solar flare yet seen in 2013. [Full Story]
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April 11, 2013 Coronal Mass Ejection
Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO/GSFC
The joint ESA/NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured this series of images of a coronal mass ejection (CME) on the morning of April 11, 2013 over the course of 3:48 EDT to 4:36 EDT. Mars can be seen on the left. [See full story.]
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April 11, 2013 Coronal Mass Ejection Coronagraphic Image
Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO/GSFC
SOHO captured this coronagraphic (a telescopic attachment designed to block out the direct light from a star so that nearby objects can be seen) image of the April 11, 2013, CME as it moves further out into the heliosphere. [See full story.]
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Sunspot AR 1711 JP Brahic
Credit: JP Brahic
JP Brahic took this photo from France on April 5, 2013. He used a refractor Astro-Physics 155mm F/D 8.5 and a Bassler ACA1300 camera with filter H-Alpha 1A ° to capture the image. [Full Story]
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Solar Prominence March 16, 2013
Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA
A solar prominence began to bow out and the broke apart in a graceful, floating style in a little less than four hours on March 16, 2013. [Full Story]
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Solar Eruption of March 15, 2013
Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO
The ESA and NASA Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured these images of the sun spitting out a coronal mass ejection (CME) on March 15, 2013, from 3:24 to 4:00 a.m. EDT.
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Five Coronal Mass Ejections February 2013
Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO
The Sun blasted out five coronal mass ejections (CMEs) over about two days (Feb. 26-28, 2013) and each one had quite a different shape and structure. Image released March 1, 2013.
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Quiet Sun During Solar Max
Credit: NASA/SDO
This image shows the Earth-facing surface of the Sun on February 28, 2013, as observed by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. HMI observed just a few small sunspots on an otherwise clean face, which is usually riddled with many spots during peak solar activity.
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Two Sunspots February 2013
Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA/HMI/Goddard Space Flight Center
The bottom two black spots on the sun, known as sunspots, appeared quickly over the course of Feb. 19-20, 2013. These two sunspots are part of the same system and are over six Earths across.
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Solar Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection of Feb. 9, 2013
Credit: ESA&NASA/SOHO
Three views over time of the coronal mass ejection (CME) released by the sun on Feb. 9, 2013 as seen by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).
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Filament Eruption on the Northeastern Limb of the Sun
Credit: NASA SDO (via Facebook as NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (Little SDO))
A huge filament of super-hot plasma, nicknamed the "Dragon Tail," erupts from the sun on Jan. 31, 2013, in this still image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
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associated
Credit: NASA SDO (via Facebook as NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (Little SDO))
NASA's Solar Dynamics Laboratory posted this image on Facebook, Jan. 31, 2013. They wrote: "Here is a first look at 45 minutes (15 min. intervals) of this beautiful filament collapsing and blasting into space."
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Sun Spicule and Prominences Seen in Elkridge, MD
Credit: Phil Whitebloom
Astrophotographer Phil Whitebloom of Elkridge, MD, sent in his photo of the sun showing different features. He writes: "There is a large prominence, spicule, loop prominence, another prominence where you could see the magnetic fields beginning to connect, and filaments.... I am a member of the Howard County Astornomy League (HAL) in Howard County, MD." Image taken Jan. 19, 2013.
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Sun Peppered With Sunspots
Credit: John Chumack
Skywatcher John Chumack took this image of the sun with about 14 sunspot groups from Dayton, OH on Jan. 7, 2013.




































































