.png)
Zoom-in Solar Dynamics Observatory composite (211, 193 and 171 wavelengths) video showing corresponding x-ray measurements of the event. (NASA/SDO/GOES)
An M-2 solar flare erupted from the sun early on Tuesday, followed by a minor radiation storm, and a dramatic coronal mass ejection (CME).
The medium-sized flare, S1-class radiation storm, and bright CME all emanated from sunspot complex 1226-1227.
A large cloud of particles mushroomed up and fell back down looking as if it covered an area of almost half the solar surface, NASA said.
“I’ve never seen material released like this before, such a huge amount that falls back down in such a spectacular way,” said NASA’s Dr. C. Alex Young in a The Sun Today video. “It looks like somebody just kicked a giant clod of dirt into the air and then it fell back down.”
Video from the Solar Dynamics Observatory in 304 Angstrom of the M-2 Flare and CME. (NASA/SDO)
According to the National Weather Service, the radiation firestorm was the most powerful since 2006 with a significant component of high energy protons.
The eruption was not pointed towards Earth, meaning the CME will only deliver a glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field during the late hours of June 8 or 9, NASA said. People living at high latitudes should be on the lookout for auroras or Northern Lights when the radiation arrives.
Harlan Spence, principal investigator for the cosmic ray telescope for the effects of radiation (CRaTER) told AFP that this is the most significant event during the two-year lifetime of the project.
"This is really exciting because ironically when we were developing the mission initially we thought we would be launching closer to a solar maximum when these big solar particle events typically occur," Spence said."Instead we launched into a historic solar minimum that took a long, long time to wake up," he added. "This is interesting and significant because it shows the Sun is returning to its more typical active state."
