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Merry-go-round for a coronal hole


Coronal holes (CH) are regions in the hot solar atmosphere ("corona") where the plasma density at that temperature is very low compared to its surroundings, and thus they look like dark shapes in the corona. Linked to unipolar magnetic fields stretching into space, they are the source of the high-speed solar wind and can create geomagnetic disturbances.

It's alive!... It's alive!...


On 9, 11 and 13 October, the Sun produced an M-class solar flare each day. These three medium-sized eruptions were the first since mid-August, ending a nearly comatose period of solar activity.

Anatomy of a solar filament


As filaments and filament eruptions continue to determine the current solar activity, it may be an idea to get a bit more acquainted.

Two spectacular filament eruptions


Once again, sunspot and related solar activity was very low last week. Nonetheless, the period featured two very nice eruptions during the evening hours of resp. 24 and 29 September. See this movie. The images underneath show the eruptions as seen with the SDO/AIA 304 filter in extreme ultraviolet (EUV).

The 24 September eruption

The Sun on (extended) summer leave


All solar observers and space weather monitors have noticed it: Over the last few weeks, solar activity has dropped again to very low levels.

A backside filament eruption


A quite impressive filament eruption took place on the Sun's backside on 11 September (see this movie). Solar filaments are clouds of ionized gas above the solar surface squeezed between magnetic regions of opposite polarity. Being cooler and denser than the plasma underneath and their surroundings, they appear as dark lines when seen on the solar disk using special filters.

A filament seen in profile


Solar filaments are clouds of ionized gas above the solar surface squeezed between magnetic regions of opposite polarity. Being cooler and denser than the plasma underneath and their surroundings, they appear as dark lines when seen on the solar disk using special filters, such as Hydrogen-alpha that shows the "cold" inner atmosphere of the Sun ("chromosphere").

Prominences do the twist


Filaments in the southern solar hemisphere


The Sun's polar field reversals


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