A massive solar flare captured by a solar-powered spacecraft

European Space Agency /[{” attribute=””>NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft has captured the largest solar prominence eruption ever observed in a single image together with the full solar disc.

Solar prominences are large structures of tangled magnetic field lines that keep dense concentrations of solar plasma suspended above the Sun’s surface, sometimes taking the form of arching loops. They are often associated with coronal mass ejections, which if directed towards Earth, can wreak havoc with our technology and everyday lives.

This last event occurred on February 15, 2022 and stretched millions of kilometers into space. The coronal mass ejection was not directed at Earth. In fact, it is moving away from us. There is no trace of the eruption in the solar disk facing the spacecraft – which is currently approaching the line of the Earth and the Sun – which means it must have originated on the side of the Sun facing us.

The images were taken by “Full Sun Imager” (FSI). extreme ultraviolet imaging (EUI) on the solar probe. FSI is designed to observe the entire solar disk even during the sun’s closest passes, such as during the next perihelion pass next month. At the closest approach on March 26, which will see the spacecraft pass within 0.3 times the distance between the Sun and Earth, the Sun will fill a much larger portion of the telescope’s field of view. At the moment, there is still a lot of “broad margin” around the disk, allowing amazing detail to be captured by the FSI for about 3.5 million kilometers, five times the radius of the Sun.

Other space telescopes such as European Space Agency/NASA Soho. Satellites You often see solar activity like this, but near the sun or far through the membrane, which blocks the glare of the solar disk to allow detailed images of the corona itself. Thus, the prominence observed by the Solar Orbiter is the largest event of its kind captured in a single field of view along the solar disk, opening up new possibilities for learning how events like these relate to the solar disk for the first time. At the same time, SOHO It can provide complementary views of larger distances.

There were also other space missions observing the event, including NASA’s Parker Solar Probe. Next week, the Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe will conduct joint custom observations during the passage of Parker’s perihelion.

Even non-solar science spacecraft felt their explosion – European Space Agency /[{” attribute=””>JAXA BepiColombo mission, currently in the vicinity of Mercury’s orbit – detected a massive increase in the readings for electrons, protons, and heavy ions with its radiation monitor.

And while this event did not send a blast of deadly particles towards Earth, it is an important reminder of the unpredictable nature of the Sun and the importance of understanding and monitoring its behavior. Together with ESA’s future dedicated space weather mission Vigil, which will provide unique views of events like these, we can better protect our home planet from the Sun’s violent outbursts.