Three Days, Three CME Flavors (November 21, 2007)

Hi-res TIF image (2.0M)

MPEG Movie: Large (5.0M)
Quicktime Movie: Large ( 27M), Small (1.4M)

STEREO captured three differently shaped CMEs (coronal mass ejections) blasting out from the Sun over a three-day span (November 14-17, 2007). The COR2 (ahead) coronagraph, taking an image very 20 minutes, lets us generate a smooth motion movie of these events. The first CME billowed out as a doughnut-shaped CME to the lower right. The second one, late on Nov. 15, was a much more diffuse, "halo" CME that seemed to create a faint halo around the Sun as it expanded in all directions. In this instance it was determined that it originated from the backside of the Sun. The last CME was the more traditionally bulbous-shaped CME, more compact, distinct and brighter than the other two. These three represent one of the Sun's busiest periods in months.

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.