Dynamic Solar Phenomena

Captivating images of the sun, featuring solar flares and prominences, captured by NASA's observatories, illustrating the sun's powerful eruptions.

November 1-2, 2011 - One large and two good-sized, energetic active regions are rotating into view. The magnetic connection between the upper two areas clearly begin to reach over and interact with each other. Above them, the magnetic field lines, made visible in extreme ultraviolet light by particles spiraling along them, rise out and loop back to the Sun, constantly changing their structures. As these regions rotate towards the center of the Sun, any solar storms they generate could produce ef

A solar flare erupts on Jan. 30, 2014, as seen by the bright flash on the left side of the sun, captured here by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. In the lower right corner the moon can be seen, having just passed between the observatory and the sun. --- The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 11 11 a.m. EST on Jan. 30, 2014. Images of the flare were captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, shortly after the observatory witnessed a lunar transit. The black disk of the moon can be seen in the lower right of the images. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. To see how this event may impact Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at a href= http //spaceweather.gov rel= nofollow spaceweather.gov /a , th

NASA image captured June 5, 2012. On June 5-6 2012, SDO is collecting images of one of the rarest predictable solar events the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart that are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The last transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117. i

A solar flare bursts off the left limb of the sun in this image captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on June 10, 2014, at 7 41 a.m. EDT. This is classified as an X2.2 flare, shown in a blend of two wavelengths of light 171 and 131 angstroms, colorized in gold and red, respectively.

Caption This image from June 20, 2013, at 11 15 p.m. EDT shows the bright light of a solar flare on the left side of the sun and an eruption of solar material shooting through the suns atmosphere, called a prominence eruption. Shortly thereafter, this same region of the sun sent a coronal mass ejection out into space. --- On June 20, 2013, at 11 24 p.m., the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME, a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later. These particles cannot travel through the atmosphere to harm humans on Earth, but they can affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground. Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from NASAs Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and ESA/NASAs Solar and Heliospheric Observatory show that the CME left the sun at speeds of around 1350 miles per second, which is a fast speed for CMEs. Earth-directed CMEs can cause a space

The Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft Ahead observed in the 304 Angstrom wavelength an eruptive solar prominence on the edge of the Sun using its Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUVI).

Extreme ultraviolet light streams out of an X-class solar flare as seen in this image captured on March 29, 2014, by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. This image blends two wavelengths of light 304 and 171 Angstroms, which help scientists observe the lower levels of the sun's atmosphere. More info The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 1 48 p.m. EDT March 29, 2014, and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. To see how this event impacted Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at a href= http //spaceweather.gov rel= nofollow spaceweather.gov /a , the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings. This f

November 1-2, 2011 - One large and two good-sized, energetic active regions are rotating into view. The magnetic connection between the upper two areas clearly begin to reach over and interact with each other. Above them, the magnetic field lines, made visible in extreme ultraviolet light by particles spiraling along them, rise out and loop back to the Sun, constantly changing their structures. As these regions rotate towards the center of the Sun, any solar storms they generate could produce ef

An instrument on our Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured its 100 millionth image of the sun. The instrument is the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, or AIA, which uses four telescopes working parallel to gather eight images of the sun - cycling through 10 different wavelengths -- every 12 seconds. This is a processed image of SDO multiwavelength blend from Jan. 19, 2015, the date of the spacecraft's 100th millionth image release.

Arches of magnetic field lines towered over the suns edge as a pair of active regions began to rotate into view in this video captured by NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory on April 5-6, 2016. Active regions are areas of very concentrated magnetic field. Charged particles spiraling along these magnetic fields emit extreme ultraviolet light, which is typically not visible to our eyes, but colorized here in gold. The light given off from the particles helps trace out the magnetic field lines, which are otherwise invisible. Scientists use images such as this to observe how magnetic fields move around the sun and learn more about what causes active regions.

Image of the sun, the largest star in our solar system.

Flaring, active regions of our sun are highlighted in this image combining observations from several telescopes. During the observations, microflares went off, which are smaller versions of the larger flares that also erupt from the sun's surface.

This LASCO C2 image, taken 8 January 2002, shows a widely spreading coronal mass ejection (CME) as it blasts more than a billion tons of matter out into space at millions of kilometers per hour. The C2 image was turned 90 degrees so that the blast seems to be pointing down. An EIT 304 Angstrom image from a different day was enlarged and superimposed on the C2 image so that it filled the occulting disk for effect.

first light image from the three state-of-the art instruments on NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) 2010 Two of the SDO instruments were built at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory of the Lockheed Martin NYSE: LMT Advanced Technology Centre (ATC) in Palo Alto. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), a suite of four telescopes, provides an unprecedented view of the solar corona, taking images that span at least 1.3 solar diameters in multiple wavelengths nearly simultaneously, at a resolution of 0.6 arc-seconds and at a cadence of 10 seconds or better. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI

NASA image release Sept 9, 2010Just as sunspot 1105 was turning away from Earth on Sept. 8, the active region erupted, producing a solar flare and a fantastic prominence. The eruption also hurled a bright coronal mass ejection into space. The eruption was not directed toward any planets.View the video here: www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/4974878090This is a snapshot of the prominence.

Numerous arches of magnetic field lines danced and swayed above a large active region over about a 30-hour period (July 17-18, 2017). We can also see the magnetic field lines from the large active region reached out and connected with a smaller active region. Those linked lines then strengthened (become brighter), but soon began to develop a kink in them and rather swiftly faded from view. All of this activity is driven by strong magnetic forces associated with the active regions. The images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light.

The Sun blew out a coronal mass ejection along with part of a solar filament over a three-hour period (Feb. 24, 2015). While some of the strands fell back into the Sun, a substantial part raced into space in a bright cloud of particles (as observed by the SOHO spacecraft). The activity was captured in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Because this occurred way over near the edge of the Sun, it was unlikely to have any effect on Earth.

The magnetic field lines between a pair of active regions formed a beautiful set of swaying arches, seen in this footage captured by NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory on April 24-26, 2017. The arches are traced out by charged particles spinning along the magnetic field lines. These arches, which form a connection between regions of opposite magnetic polarity, are visible in exquisite detail in this wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Extreme ultraviolet light is typically invisible to our eyes, but is colorized here in gold.

As a pair of active regions began to rotate into view, their towering magnetic field lines above them bloomed into a dazzling display of twisting arches (Oct. 27-28, 2015) in this image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

A prominence at the sun's edge shifted and slithered back and forth over a one-day period (Nov. 29-30, 2017). Prominences are strands of charged particles suspended above the sun's surface that are pulled and tugged by magnetic forces. This kind of close-up also shows the kind of dynamic activity taking place all over the sun's surface. The bright area further down from the prominence is an active region, an area of intense tangles of magnetic forces. Towards the end of the clip, it blasts out a small stream of plasma (captured in the still). The images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Movies are available at

corona and upper transition region of the Sun.

Strands and arches of plasma streamed above the edge of the Sun for over a day, pulled by powerful magnetic forces Aug. 11-12, 2016., observed by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

This spectacular view is a color-enhanced ultraviolet exposure of a colossal eruption, photographed during the Skylab-4 mission by the Apollo Telescope Mount facility on December 19, 1973. This giant prominence, one of the mightiest in 25 years, sparned a third of a million miles into space, roughly the distance between Earth and the Moon.

NASA image captured June 5, 2012. On June 5-6 2012, SDO is collecting images of one of the rarest predictable solar events the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart that are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The last transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117. i

NASA image captured June 5, 2012. On June 5-6 2012, SDO is collecting images of one of the rarest predictable solar events the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart that are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The last transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117. i

A beautiful prominence eruption shot off the east limb (left side) of the sun on Monday, April 16, 2012. Such eruptions are often associated with solar flares, and in this case an M1 class (medium-sized) flare did occur at the same time, though it was not aimed toward Earth. This event, which is still in progress, was seen by NASAs SDO satellite. b View a video of this event here a href= http //www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/7084820027 www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/7084820027 /a /b

NASA image captured June 6, 2012. On June 5-6 2012, SDO is collecting images of one of the rarest predictable solar events the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart that are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The last transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117. i

NASA image release Sept 9, 2010 Just as sunspot 1105 was turning away from Earth on Sept. 8, the active region erupted, producing a solar flare and a fantastic prominence. The eruption also hurled a bright coronal mass ejection into space. The eruption was not directed toward any planets. View the video here a href= http //www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/4974878090 www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/4974878090 /a To see a full disk view go here a href= http //www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/4975115754/ www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/4975115754/ /a This is a snapshot of the prominence.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an elongated coronal hole rotated across the face of the sun this past week so that it is now streaming solar wind towards Earth (Jan. 2-5, 2017).

A detail view of a filament launch in the SDO AIA 304 band.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of an M9-class flare on Oct 20, 2012 at 2 14 p.m. EDT. This image shows light at a wavelength of 131 Angstroms, which corresponds to material at 10 million Kelvin, and is a good wavelength for observing flares. This wavelength is typically colorized as teal, as shown here. To read more go to a href= http //www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News102012-m9flare.html rel= nofollow www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News102012-m9fla... /a

NASA image captured June 5, 2012. On June 5-6 2012, SDO is collecting images of one of the rarest predictable solar events the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart that are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The last transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117. i

NASA image captured April 2, 2011 Twice a year, SDO enters an eclipse season where the spacecraft slips behind Earth for up to 72 minutes a day. Unlike the crisp shadow one sees on the sun during a lunar eclipse, Earth's shadow has a variegated edge due to its atmosphere, which blocks the sun light to different degrees depending on its density. Also, light from brighter spots on the sun may make it through, which is why some solar features extend low into Earth's shadow.

This close-up from a video clip taken May 30-June 1, 2018 shows a large active region in extreme ultraviolet light as the bright magnetic field lines above it shift and twist. Note the Earth scale below the active region the longest loops extend about 10 times the diameter of Earth. When the magnetic field lines get themselves tangled up enough, they can erupt with a solar storm. Videos are available at

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of the moon crossing in front of its view of the sun on Jan. 30, 2014, at 10 30 a.m. EST in 171 and 304 angstrom light. The two wavelengths are blended together.

The sun featured just one, rather small active region over the past few days, but it developed rapidly and sported a lot of magnetic activity in just one day (Apr. 11-12, 2018). The activity was observed in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. The loops and twisting arches above it are evidence of magnetic forces tangling with each other. The video clip was produced using Helioviewer software. Movies are available at

An eruption of solar material exploding up off the surface of the right side of the sun, 2012

The sun emitted a trio of mid-level solar flares on April 2-3, 2017. The first peaked at 4 02 a.m. EDT on April 2, the second peaked at 4 33 p.m. EDT on April 2, and the third peaked at 10 29 a.m. EDT on April 3. NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured images of the three events. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. Learn more a href=

A three-dimensional image of the Sun. STEREO. This image is a composite of left and right eye color image pairs taken by the SECCHI Extreme UltraViolet Imager.

Solar activity and erupting prominences. EIT 304A (Jan. 8-10, 2000)

Sun star surface with solar flares, burning of sun animation 3D rendering

This side-by-side rendering of the Sun at the same time in two different wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light helps to visualize the differing features visible in each wavelength (Dec. 10-11, 2015). This image is from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory

On May 9, 2016, Mercury passed directly between the Sun and Earth, making a transit of the Sun. Mercury transits happen about 13 times each century. NASA's SDO studies the Sun 24/7 and captured the eight-hour event.

In a blue extreme ultraviolet image of the Sun (ionized iron at 171 angstroms), two large active regions, one in the center, and another on the right limb, display large loops of charged plasma spanning large distances. The first center region stretches 300,000 miles.

On Jan. 20, 2017, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a small area of the sun highlighted three active region. Over half a day this active region sent dark swirls of plasma and bright magnetic arches twisting and turning above it.

Ultraviolet exposure of colossal eruption on the Sun. This solar prominence, one of the largest in 25 years, erupted over 300,000 miles into space. The image is color-enhanced was photographed during the Skylab-4 mission by the Apollo Telescope. December 19, 1973.

Helle Sonne brennt mit Plasma und Fackeln im Raum. Sonneneruptionsplatz und magnetische Stürme, Konzept *** bright Sun burns with Plasma and Torches at Room Solar flare site and Magnetic Storms, Concept 1102801995

IBIS can focus in on different wavelengths of light, and so reveal different layers at different heights in the sun's lower atmosphere, the chromosphere. This image shows a region slightly higher than the former one.

A long-lasting coronal hole has again rotated around to face the Earth (Nov. 28-30, 2018). This persistent hole - the elongated dark region seen in the still image - first appeared in July and has been observed each rotation of the Sun since. Coronal holes are the source of high-speed solar wind; when this one faced Earth, it sparked outbursts of aurora some of which were observed in our northern tier states. Coronal holes are magnetically open regions on the Sun that can last from days to months, although this one has lasted longer than most. The time-lapse video, taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, covers about two days of activity. Movies available at

A three-dimensional image of the Sun. STEREO.

Full disk view of the sun from SOHO telescope AIA 335 on June 2, 2010.

SDO AIA image of the X3.1 flare in 131 angstrom light from 21 43 UT on October 24, 2014.

The lone active region visible on the sun put on a fine display with its tangled magnetic field lines swaying and twisting above it (Apr. 24-26, 2018) when viewed in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. The charged particles spinning along these field lines illuminate them. The region did not erupt with any significant solar storms, although it still might. Videos are available at

A magnetic filament of solar material erupted on the sun in late September, breaking the quiet conditions in a spectacular fashion. The 200,000 mile long filament ripped through the sun's atmosphere, the corona, leaving behind what looks like a canyon of fire. The glowing canyon traces the channel where magnetic fields held the filament aloft before the explosion. Visualizers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. combined two days of satellite data to create a short movie of this gigantic event on the sun a href= http //bit.ly/166CncU rel= nofollow bit.ly/166CncU /a In reality, the sun is not made of fire, but of something called plasma particles so hot that their electrons have boiled off, creating a charged gas that is interwoven with magnetic fields. These images were captured on Sept. 29-30, 2013, by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, which constantly observes the sun in a variety of wavelengths. Read more/download video a href= http //1.usa.gov/1dnrsjF re

The dark coronal hole in the Sun's lower region is a 'open' magnetic area through which the solar wind follows, here in between to active areas, and seen in this view from Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)'s 284 Angstrom instrument.

Each day NASA solar scientists produce overlays (in white lines) that show how magnetic field lines above the sun are configured (June 16, 2016). The lines are tightly bundled near the lighter-toned active regions, which are magnetically intense regions.

Caption: NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of an M5.7 class flare on May 3, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. This image shows light in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, a wavelength of light that can show material at the very hot temperatures of a solar flare and that is typically colorized in teal. Caption: NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of an M5.7 class flare on May 3, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. This image shows light in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, a wavelength of light that can show material at the very hot temperatures of a solar flare and that is typically colorized in teal.

Illustration of the sun with visible dark sunspots on the surface, prominences and some solar wind blowing off at the right

Between Jan. 30-Feb. 2, 2017, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory saw a substantial coronal hole rotating across the face of the sun this past week and is again streaming solar wind towards Earth.

NASA image captured June 5-6, 2012. On June 5-6 2012, SDO is collecting images of one of the rarest predictable solar events the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart that are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The last transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117. i

Image of the sun, the largest star in our solar system.

Sunspots

Solar Proxies measuring the change in the amount of radiation emitted by the Sun. Dated 2005

NASA image release January 6, 2010 Caption Spicules on the sun, as observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. These bursts of gas jet off the surface of the sun at 150,000 miles per hour and contain gas that reaches temperatures over a million degrees. GREENBELT, Md. -- Observations from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Japanese satellite Hinode show that some gas in the giant, fountain-like jets in the sun's atmosphere known as spicules can reach temperatures of millions of degrees. The finding offers a possible new framework for how the sun's high atmosphere gets so much hotter than the surface of the sun. What makes the high atmosphere, or corona, so hot - over a million degrees, compared to the sun surface's 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit -- remains a poorly understood aspect of the sun's complicated space weather system. That weather system can reach Earth, causing auroral lights and, if strong enough, disrupting Earth's communications and power systems. Understanding s

A minor solar eruption triggered a crackling, white flash that sent an expanding wave of plasma below it over about six hours in this observation from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on Nov. 4, 2016.

sun in space An image of the sun in space Copyright: xZoonar.com/magannx 5484386

Spectacular eruption On June 7, 2011, SDO captured this image as a massive eruption lifted an enormous amount of cool, dark material into the corona. Most of that material fell back onto the sun, where the gravitational energy of the fall caused it to heat up to a million degrees and more. Scientists concluded that this event on the sun was a small-scale version of what happens as stars form and collect gases via gravity. Thus, AIA allowed us to study in detail a phenomenon that cannot be observed so closely anywhere else in the universe.

A good-sized coronal hole came around to where it is just about facing Earth (May 16-18, 2018). Coronal holes are areas of open magnetic field from which solar wind (consisting of charged particles) streams into space. The video clip covers two days and was taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Such streams of particles take several days to reach Earth, but they can generate aurora, particularly nearer the poles. An animation is available at

A solar prominence in the shape of a hook is seen in extreme ultraviolet light (He II at 304 angstroms) hangs above the Sun. Prominences are huge clouds of relatively cool, dense plasma suspended in the Sun's hot, thin corona. This image was made by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) using the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) 304 Angstrom instrument.

Sun Without Spots

A new active region appeared on June 19th, quickly growing in size over two days (June 20-22, 2018). Active regions are areas of enhanced magnetic activity on the Sun's surface, generating the huge loops and dynamic surges observed here. Charged particles spinning along the field lines above the active region are illuminated in this wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. The superimposed Earth icon gives a sense of just how large these loops are. Movies are available at

A pair of comets belonging to the Kreutz family of sun grazing comets (lower middle) seen by Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) C2 camera of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The Sun's corona is visible, as is the Sun, superimposed on the occulting disc.

A substantial coronal hole had rotated so that it temporarily faced right towards Earth (May, 17-19, 2016). This coronal hole area is the dark area at the top center of this image from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory observes the Sun in ten different wavelengths because each wavelength reveals different solar features. Here, we have selected two images taken at virtually the same time but in different wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light. The red tinted image, which captures material not far above the Sun's surface, is especially good for revealing details along the edge of the Sun, like the small prominence at the ten o'clock position. The brown tinted image clearly shows two large coronal holes (darker areas) as well as some faint magnetic field lines and hints of solar activity (lighter areas), neither of which are apparent in the red image. This activity is occurring somewhat higher in the Sun's corona. In a way it is like peeling away the layers of an onion, a little at a time. Animations are available at

The Fall 2011 eclipse season started on September 11. Here is an AIA 171 image from 0657 UT with the first eclipse! SDO has eclipse seasons twice a year near each equinox. For three weeks near midnight Las Cruces time (about 0700 UT) our orbit has the Earth pass between SDO and the Sun. These eclipses can last up to 72 minutes in the middle of an eclipse season. The current eclipse season started on September 11 and lasts until October 4. To read more about SDO go to a href= http //sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/ rel= nofollow sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/ /a

The Sun as viewed through a filter revealing surface features

This composite image, made from 4 frames, shows the International Space Station, with a crew of six onboard, as it transits the Sun at roughly five miles per second during a partial solar eclipse, Monday, Aug. 21, 2017 from , Northern Cascades National Park in Washington. Onboard as part of Expedition 52 are: NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson, Jack Fischer, and Randy Bresnik; Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergey Ryazanskiy; and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Paolo Nespoli. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe.

A three-dimensional image of the Sun. STEREO.

Sun on space background. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

Extreme ultraviolet light streams out of an X-class solar flare as seen in this image captured on March 29, 2014, by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. This image blends two wavelengths of light 304 and 171 Angstroms, which help scientists observe the lower levels of the sun's atmosphere. More info The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 1 48 p.m. EDT March 29, 2014, and NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. To see how this event impacted Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at a href= http //spaceweather.gov rel= nofollow spaceweather.gov /a , the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings. This f

NASA release date May 9, 2008 An artist depicts the incredibly powerful flare that erupted from the red dwarf star EV Lacertae.

Illustration of a planet

Illustration of a planet

In just about seven hours, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft saw the moon transit the Sun two times (Sept. 9-10, 2018). Transits occur when an object passes between a larger body and the viewer. The first transit lasted about an hour and covered 92 percent of the Sun at its peak. The second transit lasted about 50 minutes and covered just 34 percent of the Sun at its peak. The Moon appears to go in one direction in the first transit and the opposite direction in the second. This is because the SDO spacecraft orbits around Earth, moving in the same direction as the Moon but faster. On the first transit it catches up with and passes the Moon. As SDO swings back around the far side of Earth, it encounters the Moon again from the far side of Earth, where it appears to travel in the opposite direction. The images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. None of this was visible from Earth. Movies are available at

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

. A First for NASA's IRIS Observing a Gigantic Eruption of Solar Material

The planet Mercury is seen in silhouette, lower third of image, as it transits across the face of the sun Monday, May 9, 2016, as viewed from Boyertown, Pennsylvania. Mercury passes between Earth and the sun only about 13 times a century, with the previous transit taking place in 2006.

For much of this week the sun featured three substantial coronal holes (Apr. 3-6, 2018). Coronal holes appear as large dark areas which are identified with arrows in the still image. These are areas of open magnetic field from which high speed solar wind rushes out into space. This wind, if it interacts with Earth's magnetosphere, can cause aurora to appear near the poles. They are not at all uncommon. Animations are available at

Digital Composite Combining Corona Image with Data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)

Sun as view in solar telescope, close-up (03.01.12)

The north pole is at the center of the image; with 0 degrees, 90 degrees , 180 degrees, 270 degrees east longitudes at 6, 3, 12 and 9 0'clock positions, repectively, of an imagery clock face. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the first cycle of Magelolan mapping are mapped onto a computer-simulated globe to create this image. Data gaps are filled with Pioneere-Venus Orbiter data, or a constant mid-range value. Simulated color is used to enhance small-scale structure. The simulated hues are based on color images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 & 14 spacecraft..

The Sun blasted out five coronal mass ejections (CMEs) over about two days (Feb. 26-28, 2013) and each one had quite a different shape and structure, seen here in a video a href= http //bit.ly/Za8Aso rel= nofollow bit.ly/Za8Aso /a . The most interesting one (seen above) blew out to the right with a bright, elongated center, likely part of a solar filament, that maintained its curly-Q shape as it expanded out of view. The images were taken by SOHO LASCO C2 coronagraph. The Sun is represented by the white circle and the red disk blocks out the Sun and part of the corona.

Planet Venus. Solar system. Cosmos art. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

Loop structures on the Sun's surface are indicative of solar activity. What we are actually observing are electrically charged particles spiraling around elongated magnetic field lines that have emerged from below the Sun and arc back into it, mute testimony to the magnetic forces that control the activity on the Sun's surface. The temperature of the plasma shown is about 1 million K. This image was taken by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is in extreme ultraviolet at 171 angstroms

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