Some coronal activity (October 2, 2009)

Hi-res TIF image (2.1M)

Quicktime Movie: Large (4.6M), Small (1.8M)
MPEG Movie: Large (6.4M).

SOHO's C2 coronagraph caught two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) over about three days (Sept. 26-29, 2009), something we have not seen for many months. The larger event (shown in the still) blasts out to the left of the Sun, followed by a smaller event off to the right near the end of the clip. CMEs are solar storms that eject over a billion tons of matter at millions of miles per hour. The source of the first event appear to have been a eruptive prominence seen from the perspective of STEREO (Behind) The Sun has been sporting two sunspots over the past week or more, again an indication of a more active Sun than we are used to seeing over the past two years or more.

SOHO began its Weekly Pick some time after sending a weekly image or video clip to the American Museum of Natural History (Rose Center) in New York City. There, the SOHO Weekly Pick is displayed with some annotations on a large plasma display.

If your institution would also like to receive the same Weekly Pick from us for display (usually in Photoshop or QuickTime format), please send your inquiry to steele.hill@gsfc.nasa.gov.