Solar Tsunami Revealed in New Photo

News
By published
Solar Tsunami Revealed in New Photo
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory snapped this multi-wavelength extreme ultraviolet image of the sun, showing the Aug. 1 solar eruption that blasted charged particles toward Earth. The Class C3 solar flare triggered stunning aurora displays and geomagnetic storms on Earth that lasted about 12 hours. (Image credit: NASA/SDO/AIA [Full Story])

A vividnew photo of the sun has revealed a new view of a solar eruption in the star'snorthern hemisphere that blasted charged particles in Earth's direction thisweek, according to NASA officials.

Thesolar storm, which NASA called a "solar tsunami" in a Fridaystatement, occurred Aug. 1. It was a Class C3 solar flare in which almost the entire Earth-facing side of the sun erupted in awave of tumultuous activity. [New solar tsunami photo.]

Thesolar particles began striking Earth's magnetic field Tuesday and sparked apowerful 12-hour geomagnetic storm and spectacular aurora displays. The flarewas not powerful enough to pose a radiationthreat to astronauts living on the International Space Station, NASAofficials have said.

Thisnew multi-wavelength extreme ultraviolet photo from NASA's Solar DynamicsObservatory shows the sun in mid-eruption.

Theeruption, called a coronal mass ejection, was spotted by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory , which captures high-definition views of the sun ata variety of wavelengths. SDO was launched in February and peers deep into thelayers of the sun, investigating the mysteries of its inner workings.

Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.