On March 29th , the sun released an 10 - class flare . It was caught by five high - caliber solar observatories on the footing and in space , make the most detailed observations of an vivid flare in chronicle . This beautiful , rich data will help research worker better understand what spark flair .
Composite of data point sources capture the flare : SDO [ bottom / left ] , IRIS [ glum orange square ] , Dunn Solar Telescope [ cherry-red rectangle ] , RHESSI [ purplish musca volitans ] . Credit : NASA
ex - class flaresare the biggest of the big , the mellow - energy and bright of solar flare . The March 29th event was an X1 flare , the lowest loudness within the X - class class .
Composite of many ( but not all ) of the data point sources capturing the flash .
The flair was observed by NASA ’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph ( IRIS ) , Solar Dynamics Observatory ( SDO ) and Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager ( RHESSI ) ; the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency ’s Hinode ; and the National Solar Observatory ’s ground - found Dunn Solar Telescope .
Flare ribbon in the overlain on a footprint of the macula underlaying the solar flare . course credit : Lucia Kleint ( BAER Institute)/Paul Higgins ( Trinity College Dublin , Ireland )
It might seem like a ground - based telescope has little to bestow to the quaternion of space scope , but it ’s the lynchpin that co - align the action at law . The Dunn Solar Telescope was on a ten - day mission to hunt for flash , and had distinguish an active region with intense magnetic field of view in close proximity . hop this was the harbinger of a solar eruption , the squad call for three of the blank space telescopes add the region to their watching agenda . They did , reorient just in time to capture the upshot .
RHESSI did n’t produce beautiful range , but did capture the vivid flare - accelerated negatron in the footprint of the flare [ left ] and the roasting hot 25 million Kelvin temperature in the corona flare loop [ right wing ] . mention : NASA / RHESSI
Besides the five observatories focusing on the primary flare , several other telescopes captured secondary events . NASA ’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory ( STEREO ) and the ESA / NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory ( SOHO ) observed the related coronal mass ejection , while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite ( GOES ) measured the flare ’s X - rays , and other ballistic capsule watched the effect of the flare as it propagated through space .
Overall , this means the solar flash was watched by more observatories with more coordination than any other flare in history . The elaborated data from so many sources and so many instruments will hopefully lead to a better agreement of what causes these solar explosion , and perhaps even a better ability to foretell when they ’ll find .
Each image of the solar flare is progressively gamey in the sun ’s atm , from the chromosphere [ upper left wing ] to 3,000 miles above the aerofoil [ lower right ] . Credit : JAXA / NASA / Hinode / EIS
This was the first go - class flair observe by the IRIS ballistic capsule , which only launched in June 2013 . The purpose of the craft is to observe the interface part between the chromosphere and passage layers , and this was the first - ever observation of what happens in it during the formation of an vivid solar flare .
The first X - class flare imaged by IRSI . Credit : NASA / IRIS
While this flash pose no scourge to Earth , that ’s an constituent of pure luck . Massive flares can knock out the power grid , where on a large enough shell that ’s a downrightcatastrophic threat to refinement .
A Near - Disaster Dodged By Orbital Dynamics
The flash smooth brilliantly at 10 million Kelvin , captured in the 131 Angstrom wavelength . Credit : NASA / SDO . take more about what thedifferent color in SDO image imply here .
Why do we care?NASA invest it eloquently :
To have a record of such an vivid flare from so many lookout is unprecedented . Such research can help scientists better sympathise what accelerator sets off these large explosions on the Sunday . Perhaps we may even some day be able to predict their onset and forewarn of the radio blackouts solar flare can get near Earth – blackout that can interfere with aeroplane , ship and military communication .
Not every reflexion produces beautiful prototype . The GOES satellite recorded a stiletto heel in X - rays from the sun , the signature of a solar flash . Credit : GOES
Learn more about the unprecedented depth of observation in this NASA video recording , read about it in their press exit , or justadmire the pretty picture in this record album .
NASA will be hosting a Hangout about the flash on April 8 . You might also care this ratherunusual - looking cavitation result .
No , Coronal Cavities are Not Alien Spaceships Refeuling
Solar flareSpace weather
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