Five for Five (March 30, 2012)

Hi-res TIF composite image (4.1M)
Image A (2.4M), B (2.4M) and C (2.4M).

Quicktime: Large (150M), Small (6.7M)
MPEG: Large ( 21M), Small ( 11M), MP4 (5.3M), M4V (2.2M)

The Sun blew out at least five halo coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and several others over a five-day period (Mar. 24-29, 2012). SOHO's C3 coronagraph observed the action. Halo CMEs are ejections whose leading edge appears to spread out from the Sun in a kind of circle (i.e., halo), which indicates that the expanding cloud of particles is heading either directly towards or away from Earth. Most of the events were from the far side of the Sun, except for the two close together early on Mar. 27. This dynamic level of activity is in line with expectations that we are approaching solar maximum.

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.