CME Lashes Out (March 5, 2010)

Hi-res TIF image (1.3M)

Quicktime Movie: Large (4.7M), Small (469K)
MPEG Movie (1.9M)

STEREO (Ahead) watched as a strong coronal mass ejection (CME) and an eruptive prominence rose up and stretched way out above the Sun's surface (Feb. 28, 2010). The composite image and movie show the action in both extreme UV wavelength (orange Sun) near and just above the solar surface overlaid on the frames from STEREO COR1 coronagraph that shows the material as it rises out into the corona. The video clip shows about 8 hours of activity. This is one of the brightest and most substantial CMEs we have seen in several years. And the presence of such bright prominence material in COR1 is very rare and has only been seen twice before.

SOHO began its Weekly Pick some time after sending a weekly image or video clip to the American Museum of Natural History (Rose Center) in New York City. There, the SOHO Weekly Pick is displayed with some annotations on a large plasma display.

If your institution would also like to receive the same Weekly Pick from us for display (usually in Photoshop or QuickTime format), please send your inquiry to steele.hill@gsfc.nasa.gov.