Sun Unleashes 5 Solar Eruptions in 2 Days

By SPACE.com Staff
Space.com | SPACE.com – Mon, Feb 27, 2012

Things on the sun have certainly been heating up. Our closest star unleashed five solar eruptions in only two days last week, producing extraordinary northern lights displays for lucky skywatchers over the weekend.

The solar storms flared up between Feb. 23 and 24 and exploded from nearly all areas of the star, including the top, bottom, left and right sides of the solar disk as seen by space-based observatories, according to NASA scientists. In fact, four of these outbursts came within a single 24-hour period.

One of the eruptions churned out an impressive magnetic filament in the early hours of Feb. 24. This triggered the first of two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that were blasted toward Earth. CMEs are massive eruptions of solar plasma and charged particles that can produce potentially harmfulgeomagnetic storms when the they hit Earth's magnetic field lines.

Scientists closely monitor these events because the most powerful geomagnetic storms can disrupt satellites in orbit, cause communications interference, and damage other electronic infrastructure. But, one of the less harmful effects of geomagnetic storms is that they can amp up normal displays of Earth's auroras (also known as the northern and southern lights).

The Feb. 24 eruption was captured in a video by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. The filament, which is visible in the extreme ultraviolet wavelength, shoots out from the sun, sending clouds of plasma into space.

Filaments are strands of darker, cooler solar material that hover above the surface of the sun by magnetic forces, NASA scientists explained.

The CME from the Feb. 24 solar eruption was weak, however, and did not set off a strong geomagnetic storm, NASA scientists said. After traveling through space, the CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT).

While the CME did not pack much of a punch, skywatchers at high latitudes were treated to stunning auroras on Feb. 26. Beautiful celestial light shows were reported were reported in Scandinavia and elsewhere around the Arctic Circle, according to website Spaceweather.com.

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Solar and lunar Eclipse Dates for 2012

May 20, 2012: Annular eclipse of the Sun This rare eclipse will be partially visible from all but eastern North America. For most western locations, the eclipse will begin between 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. PDT. In Alaska and parts of northern Canada, the eclipse will start an hour earlier and end 2 to 3 hours later (or will be interrupted by sunset). In San Francisco, for example, the eclipse will begin at 5:16 P.M. PDT, reach its maximum at 6:33 P.M., and end at 7:30 P.M., with the Sun very low on the horizon.

June 3-4, 2012: Partial eclipse of the Moon In North America, this will be fully visible only from western Alaska; Hawaiians will also have a view. The Moon will enter the penumbra at 10:47 P.M. HAST on June 3, reach a maximum at 1:03 A.M. on June 4, and then leave the penumbra at 3:20 A.M. The eclipse will be partially visible from most of central and western parts of North America; observers will be able to see both a penumbral and umbral eclipse. The Moon will enter the penumbra at 1:47 A.M. PDT on June 4 and then enter the umbra at 2:59 A.M. PDT. However, the Moon will set before completion of the eclipse. Only a penumbral eclipse will be visible from the Northeast, starting at 4:47 A.M. EDT on June 4, before the Moon sets.

November 13-14, 2012: Total eclipse of the Sun This eclipse will not be visible from North America. It will be visible only from Australia, Polynesia, the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and Antarctica.

November 28, 2012: Penumbral eclipse of the Moon This eclipse will be fully visible only from Alaska and western parts of Hawaii. The Moon will enter the penumbra at 3:13 A.M. AKST, reach a maximum at 5:33 A.M., and exit the penumbra at 7:53 A.M. In central and western North America, the eclipse will begin at 4:13 A.M. PST, but the Moon will set before the eclipse concludes. No eclipse will be visible from eastern North America.

NASA Interactive Night Sky Map