A massive solar explosion just erupted from the far side of the sun: ScienceAlert

The sun was on some Very intense cheats Lately, but the recent eruption on the far side seems to be absolute scientific gold.

On the evening of September 5th GMT massive Coronal mass ejection The CME was recorded exploding on the far side of the Sun, sending a radiation storm across the solar system. It was a type known as a CME halo, in which an expanding halo of hot gas could be seen spewing around the entire Sun.

Sometimes this means that the CME is going straight to Earth. However, this eruption was on the far side, so it’s heading away, and we won’t see any of the usual effects. solar storm Here on our planet.

But Venus He was right on the path of the next storm — and with him, the Solar Orbiter, a space probe currently operated by the European Space Agency and NASA that is currently near Venus after gravity assist on September 4 on its mission to take close-up observations of our star home.

This has given us a rare opportunity to observe and measure the distant giant CME, something that would normally be difficult for us to do.

“This is no ordinary occurrence. Many scientific papers will study this for years to come,” heliophysicist George Ho of the Johns Hopkins Laboratory of Applied Physics Tell Spaceweather.

“I can safely say that the Sept. 5 event is one of the largest (if not the largest) active solar particle (SEP) storms we’ve seen so far since the launch of the Solar Orbiter in 2020.”

It’s unclear exactly where the sun emanated from, but it seems likely that the culprit is a sunspot region called AR 3088, which orbits far behind the sun’s disk at the end of August.

SOLAR DISCO: AR3088 SURVIVES – Blowing light and matter on its journey around the sun. It still makes a great show even out of our view. Here is a look at the area over 2.5 days and ending with the big M2 eruption directed away from us. SDO 171/193/131 🧐🙀🤩😆👋 pic.twitter.com/lXGiUQC3Os

– Dr. C. Alex Young (@TheSunToday) August 31, 2022

As I did so, I let out a parting shot—a massive M2 glow, directed off the ground.

Helioscience – the study of the sun’s internal oscillations, based on surface vibrations – can be used to detect sunspots on the far side of our star.

That’s because accumulations of magnetic fields, such as sunspots, can do just that affect the speed of sound waves bouncing inside the sun.

Heliosis measurements from NASA indicate that AR 3088 may have grown after it left our side of the Sun.

It’s relatively quiet on the Earth-facing side of the sun compared to the last action with the AR3088. A big eruption recently occurred on the far side. Possible candidate, Ole ‘AR3088. The flag of the sun shows a large area. Maybe our old friend. 🧐🌞🙀👏 pic.twitter.com/fjp97I4Sp2

– Dr. C. Alex Young (@TheSunToday) September 6, 2022

There are many spacecraft that may not survive such a severe storm from the sun. But the Solar Orbiter, as the name suggests, was built to withstand solar strikes.

It is equipped with devices for measuring solar phenomena, including violent eruptions of the Sun.

In fact, Solar Orbiter was located in Previous CME track which erupted on August 30 GMT, before the gravity assist maneuver.

Its instruments, in both events, recorded a spike in energetic particles of solar energy. This is information that can help scientists classify these events and better understand the behavior of the Sun and its impact on the space environment.

The intensity of the high-energy particles remains high; It looks like an interplanetary shock just passed Tweet embed early today. CME should follow soon. pic.twitter.com/yF5njp5QRu

– George Ho (@mrgho06) September 6, 2022

The AR 3088 is still on the far side of the sun, and if it were to appear again, it wouldn’t do so for a few days. So it’s entirely possible that by the time he gets back to us, he’ll be leaner and quieter.

Currently, All is quiet in the land of the sun directed towards the earthwith no solar storms In sight.

There are a few Visible sunspot areasbut they all appear to be fairly faint at the moment, with a much milder tropical heavy fire raging on the near side of the sun.

However, the Sun is reaching the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, so we should see more powerful eruptions occurring in the not too distant future.

If you want to stay up-to-date with the solar weather forecast, and what it means for the Earth, you can check out Follow NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction CenterThe British Met OfficeThe Australian Bureau of MeteorologyAnd the Spaceweather Live on their websites.