27 June 2012
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Fig. 1
Double solar eruption
The image, acquired by NASA’s STEREO A spacecraft, shows massive clouds of particles erupting from the Sun in nearly opposite directions.
Credit: NASA
NASA recently published amazing images of two powerful eruptions, bursting form the Sun. The eruptions occurred within 24 hours, starting on 8 June 2012. The first eruption, described to be “double”, sent mushroom-like clouds of particles at just about the same time, in almost opposite directions. The second blast was also double, sending two circular clouds out into space, again at almost the same time. NASA’s STEREO A spacecraft imaged the eruptions, applying an instrument known as the COR2 coronagraph. This coronagraph allows observing the Sun’s expansive tenuous outer atmosphere, the corona, by blocking out the Sun with an occulting disk, shown in the center of Fig. 1 as a black disk. The Sun’s true location is highlighted with a white circle within the disk.
References
SOHO
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/pickoftheweek/old/15jun2012/
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior Astronomy Specialist