Sun erupts with an extraordinary mass ejection
NASA-GSFC NEWS RELEASE
Posted: January 5, 2002

SOHO
SOHO view of Friday's Coronal Mass Ejection. Photo: SOHO/LASCO (ESA & NASA)
 
The Sun unlashed a powerful eruption Friday and the SOHO instruments recorded maybe the most complex coronal mass ejection (CME) seen since the launch of the observatory six years ago. The CME was initiated by an eruptive prominence on the northeast solar limb and is therefore not heading towards the Earth.

The images from the LASCO coronagraph show a very rapidly expanding coronal mass ejection (CME) blasting billions of tons of particles out from the Sun at about 3.5 million kilometers per hour. The complex structures are caused by magnetic filed structures that were ejected from the Sun.

The Sun, blocked by an occulting disk, is represented by the white circle. The bright object just to the right of the Sun is the planet Venus. The bright horisontla streaks is an artifact of the LASCO detector since the planet is too bright for the detector.

SOHO
SOHO image a few hours later than the one above. Photo: SOHO/LASCO (ESA & NASA)
 

Creating Space
Creating Space groups together the history, the vehicles and the models into logical and meaningful categories. This book is equally valuable to space enthusiasts, modellers, and space historians.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

Soviet Space
For the first time ever available in the West. Rocket & Space Corporation Energia: a complete pictorial history of the Soviet/Russian Space Program from 1946 to the present day all in full color. Available from our store.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Viking patch
This embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Apollo 7 DVD
For 11 days the crew of Apollo 7 fought colds while they put the Apollo spacecraft through a workout, establishing confidence in the machine what would lead directly to the bold decision to send Apollo 8 to the moon just 2 months later.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

Gemini 12
Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.
 Choose your store:
U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide

An insider's view of how Apollo flight controllers operated and just what they faced when events were crucial.
 Choose your store:
U.S.

Final Shuttle Mission Patch

Free shipping to U.S. addresses!

The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

STS-134 Patch

Free shipping to U.S. addresses!

The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

Ares 1-X Patch
The official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

Apollo Collage
This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

Project Orion
The Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA's first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.
 U.S. STORE


Fallen Heroes Patch Collection
The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.
 U.S. STORE
 WORLDWIDE STORE

Get e-mail updates
Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop (privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose).
Enter your e-mail address:

INDEX | PLUS | NEWS ARCHIVE | LAUNCH SCHEDULE
ASTRONOMY NOW | STORE

ADVERTISE

© 2012 Spaceflight Now Inc.