Five Days/Eight CMEs (March 28, 2014)

The dynamism of the Sun was readily apparent for five days in the past week: it blasted at least eight substantial coronal mass ejections (CMEs) into space in all different directions (Mar. 20-24, 2014). The last one was the most curious. The particle cloud rose and expanded directly above the top of the Sun looking a lot like a smoke ring. In these coronagraph images from STEREO (Behind), the Sun (represented by the white circle) is blocked by a black occulting disk so that we can see faint features in the corona. The Sun is near its peak level activity in its 11 year solar cycle.

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.