Solar eruption. SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) image of a huge coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun. The disc of the Sun has been obscu

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Solar eruption. SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) image of a huge coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun. The disc of the Sun has been obscured to prevent the image from being over- exposed. The white circle at centre represents the size of the Sun. A CME is an energetic eruption from the corona, the hot outer layer of the Sun. It is a common event during periods of high solar activity, and consists of charged gas (plasma) travelling at up to 400 kilometres per second. If directed towards Earth, it may cause magnetic storms and aurorae. Image taken by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) on the SOHO satellite between the Earth and the Sun.

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Size: 3543px × 3535px
Photo credit: © NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: active, activity, astronomy, astrophysics, cme, coronal, cosmology, ejection, eruption, heliospheric, imagery, lasco, mass, observatory, plasma, science, soho, solar, star, storm, sun, suns, surface