Today's Image

Solar eruption larger than Earth

Solar eruption larger than Earth, released on August 1, 2016 by ESA.
Composite image of a solar eruption larger than Earth. Image via SOHO’s ultraviolet telescope/ ESA.

The European Space Agency (ESA) released this image on August 1, 2016. It’s a prominence, or gigantic ribbon of hot gas bursting from the sun, guided by a giant loop of invisible magnetism. Earth is superimposed for comparison and shows that from top to bottom the loop of gas, or prominence, extends about 35 times the diameter of our planet into space.

Read more about this image from ESA

Posted 
August 1, 2016
 in 
Today's Image

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