Happy Birthday Fireworks

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Also from EIT: 1024x1024 Full field movies: 512x512, 256x256 Full resolution subfield: 512x256	Also from LASCO C2: 1024x1024 Movies: 512x512, 256x256	Also from LASCO C3: 1024x1024 Movies: 512x512, 256x256

Caption: In celebration of the birthday of its most diligent watcher, the Sun has let loose an unusual and quick-fire series of eruptions during the past few days. Saturday will be the 5th anniversary of SOHO's launch into space, on 2 December 1995.

As observed by SOHO itself, the eruptions began on 23 November. A succession of five X-class solar flares were accompanied by mass ejections blasted in the direction of the Earth. More flares and mass ejections occurred every day up to 27 November.

By that time the earlier mass ejections had already hit and jolted the Earth's protective magnetosphere, provoking displays of the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) from 26 November onwards. People living at high latitudes could see the results of these solar fireworks with their own eyes.

The SOHO satellite also has instruments that are able to detect the direct results of these events. For example, the Proton Monitor on CELIAS (Charge, Element and Isotope Analysis System) detects the shock fronts as they race towards earth, by measuring the solar wind speed, density and temperature. Shown below are the signatures of two of the shock fronts as they passed by SOHO on 26 and 28 November.

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COSTEP (Comprehensive Suprathermal and Energetic Particle Analyzer) measures energetic electrons and ions arriving from the Sun after being accelerated by shocks or flares, as well as other solar sources.

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Also available: Postscript version.

See also these [near] real-time pages:

SOHO Real-Time Images - Any more flares or CME's?
SOHO/CELIAS MTOF Proton Monitor - Mass ejections as they pass by SOHO's orbit
SOHO/ ERNE 2hr Averaged Proton Intensity - Energetic protons arriving at SOHO
Today's Space Weather - With Solar X-ray Flux

Compare with other Earth directed CMEs and solar storms:
November 8, 2000
July 14, 2000

Picture Credit: SOHO/EIT, SOHO/LASCO, SOHO/COSTEP, SOHO/CELIAS (ESA & NASA)
Instrument/observatories: Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO); Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT)