Yesterday, the Sun released a massive coronal mass ejection (CME) in the longest solar prominence observed in years. The length of the prominence was estimated to be approximately 380,000 kilometers (236,000 miles), longer than the distance between the Earth and the Moon. CMEs often occur near solar maximum, but this one stands out a bit because it appeared to be heading straight for Mercury and some remarkable images were captured.
CMEs The cause of the aurora and Related ActivitiesThese occur when solar flares lift magnetic fields and plasma from the Sun and eject them into space.
Not all flares, and even not all large flares, produce CMEs, making solar activity difficult to predict.When a CME occurs, charged particles lifted from the Sun, if aimed at Earth, are funneled by the magnetosphere towards the poles, where they ionize into excited atoms that emit light as they return to their ground state.
Mercury has no atmosphere, so until recently Nothing interesting happens A CME hit, but one year ago today, the evidence was Published For those who can see in the X-ray part of the spectrum, they will see a phenomenon as spectacular as the aurora borealis. The CME electrons will reach the Earth’s surface unhindered, The rock itself emits fluorescence At X-ray wavelengths after compressing Mercury’s magnetosphere.
It’s no surprise that it seemed to have caught Sun’s attention in March. Large CME on MercuryAnd now another satellite has been sent towards the little planet.
Unfortunately, NASA’s SOHO was only able to capture part of the phenomenon, but it still makes for a spectacular sight.
Image courtesy of NASA SOHO
Hopefully, this situation will continue in the future, but by December of next year BepiColombo spacecraft If all goes well, the probe will enter orbit around Mercury. It has already done so three times, using Mercury’s gravity to adjust its trajectory around the Sun and finally enter orbit, just like it did twice around Venus. Three more close encounters are planned. Data from one of these short visits made astronomers aware of the whole X-ray fluorescence phenomenon, so if a CME strikes while the probe is in orbit, the scientific payoff could be enormous. It remains to be seen whether the solar maximum will last that long.
NASA’s solar observation satellite was unable to capture a portion of the CME because it was undergoing calibration, but NOAA’s GOES-16 solar ultraviolet imager was able to capture a portion of the CME. Caught them allNASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has made similar observations, the image of which is shown above.
But they all add up to the achievements of Argentine astrophotographer Eduardo Schaerberger-Poupo, a frequent winner of astrophotography awards and the man who has captured a ton of images of the sun. His Instagramamong which the one at the beginning of this story stands out.
“Despite the huge turbulence in the atmosphere this afternoon (my ‘visibility’ is very poor during the winter), I was able to image the Sun’s huge plasma tongue with the H-Alpha telescope,” Poupa said. Space Weather.
“As I watched, the prominence grew bigger and bigger, reaching a height of over 380,000 km, greater than the distance between the Earth and the Moon. This solar phenomenon was truly spectacular – a huge tongue of plasma stretched out like a fiery serpent. I was in awe of the scale and beauty of the phenomenon, and was reminded once again of the grandeur and power of the universe that surrounds us.”
