PICK OF THE WEEK
Pick of The Week
Strong X-3 flare (August 28, 2002)
|
Early on August 24, 2002 a powerful X-3 flare erupted above the
surface of the Sun near the large sunspot area of AR 69. It was first
observed by SOHO's EIT 195Å instrument as a large white flash near
1:13 UT (in the boxed area of the green Sun). Not long afterward
(1:50 UT) the flare and an associated coronal mass ejection can be
seen in LASCO's C2 instrument (red background image). There the Sun
is blocked out so that scientists can observe activity like this in
the corona. The series of blue images show the corona as the particle
clouds expands out into space over the next four hours. The numerous
white specks indicate a storm of high-energy protons, propelled out
by the flare, were striking SOHO's imaging detector, the signature
markings of a radiation storm. The storm lasted about two days and
probably caused some communication problems here on Earth. 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. |
