Solar Storm, Bastille Day Event, 2000
On July 14th, 2000, an active region of the sun (called AR9077) produced a massive flare. The event also blasted an enormous cloud of positive-charged particles toward planet Earth, triggering magnetic storms and dramatic auroral displays. This close-up of AR9077 was made by the orbiting TRACE satellite shortly after the flare erupted. Suspended in an arcade of magnetic loops, the image shows a one million degree hot solar plasma cooling down. Plasma is a gas that has been heated to a state where it contains ions and free-floating electrons. Collectively resembling a popular "slinky" toy, the enormous loops are actually magnetic field lines which trap the glowing, cooling plasma above the relatively dark solar surface. After the flare, AR9077's activity decayed as it was carried farther across the Earth-facing hemisphere of the Sun by solar rotation. Active regions like AR9077 appear as groups of dark sunspots in visible light. This flare spawned a solar storm that bombarded Earth with a shower of protons, causing scientific and communications satellites to short-circuit. This shower of protons, the Bastille Day event, was the third largest of its kind in the last 30 years.
Size: 3600px × 2627px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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