Status Report

SOHO Pick of the Week A Proton Storm Erupts

By SpaceRef Editor
November 9, 2001
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  • Higher resolution version (TIF, 4.6M)

    An X-class (scientific term for very strong) solar flare (not
    pictured) and a coronal mass ejection (CME) blasted off of the sun,
    rocketing high-energy protons into the SOHO imager within minutes of
    the storm’s onset. The first two images LASCO C3 instrument show the
    expanding CME and the particles appearing as white specks. The third
    image shows the storm just beginning to ease up over two days later.
    This storm caused brilliant aurora to appear over much of the Earth
    on Nov. 5 and 6 and was the most intense proton storm of the current
    solar cycle. The Sun, blocked by an occulting disk, is represented by
    the white circle. The breadth of view of the C3 instrument is 30
    solar radii.

    Previous Picks of the Week

  • SpaceRef staff editor.