Boom! The Sun Unleashes a Huge CME

Analysis by Ian O'Neill | Tue Apr 13, 2010 07:13 PM ET


The sun has just exploded to life, blasting a huge coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. This is the largest such event for several years.

In case you haven't noticed, our nearest star has been a little subdued of late, and trying to find even the smallest of sunspots (an indicator of solar activity) was becoming a lost cause. But not anymore! It would appear the sun is getting its act together, exhibiting an uptick in sunspot numbers, increased magnetic activity and more explosive events (flares and CMEs) as solar activity increases toward "solar maximum," predicted to reach its peak in 2013.


As noted in Nicole Gugliucci's article yesterday, we are slowly beginning to understand the root cause behind these magnetic explosions and how solar phenomena such as CMEs impact our planet. For an idea about the fireworks that are sparked when solar wind particles slam into our atmosphere, have a read of Irene Klotz's article "Earth Gets Geomagnetic Wallop."

more

http://news.discovery.com/space/boom-the-sun-unleashes-a-huge-cme.html

Ok, I need to get a solar filter for my Nexstar!