Today's Image

X-flare of Saturday, March 29

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash of the X-flare that occurred on the sun on March 29, 2014.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash of the X-flare that occurred on the sun on March 29, 2014.

An X-flare – the most powerful kind of solar flare – flashed briefly from the sun yesterday (March 29, 2014). It propelled a coronal mass ejection, or CME, into space, the bulk of the CME is due to pass north of the sun-Earth line. However, a faint Earth-directed component could deliver a glancing blow to our planet’s magnetic field on April 1-2, producing beautiful auroras or northern lights.

Are solar storms dangerous to us?

Will I see the northern lights tonight?

Read about a rare “magnetic crochet” from yesterday’s X-flare at SpaceWeather.com

Posted 
March 30, 2014
 in 
Today's Image

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