And a One and a Two... (May 6, 2005)
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It has been almost a year since we have seen a trio of solar storms as large as the one and then the two that occurred sequentially on May 2-3, 2005. As observed by the LASCO C3 coronagraph, the first, somewhat faint, coronal mass ejection (CME) first appears at 6:18 UT on May 2 and appears to emerge from the Sun in all directions, something we call a "halo" CME. At 16:18 UT the second CME begins to appear on the right, and while that is still visible, the third and largest CME of the three blasts out into space from the left at 23:18. The flow continues to be visible in the field of view for the next 16 hours or so. It is downright uncommon to see the overlap in time of two different CMEs heading in opposite directions. CMEs carry billions of tons of matter into space at millions of miles per hour. All of these events were determined to have originated on the far side of the Sun and will generate no effects on Earth (such as aurora). Please visit our Newsroom for press releases and media coverage.
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. |
