Video: Coronal Rain Shower Caught on Sun

[n2doc]

A spectacular solar flare erupted early this morning. But instead of escaping out into space, billions of tons of charged plasma fell back onto the surface of the sun in a coronal rain shower.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” said NASA solar physicist Jack Ireland.

The event began at about 2:30 a.m. Eastern time and continued for several hours. The flare itself — the brief bright flash at the beginning of the video above — was fairly ordinary and medium-sized. But the loop of magnetized plasma ejected by the flare, called a filament, was at least as large as 10 Earths.

Filaments that large normally break free from the sun’s magnetic field and escape into space, said NASA solar physicist Alex Young. But this filament, perhaps because it didn’t have enough energy, simply broke up and fell back down. The splash covered almost half the sun’s diameter.



more

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/coronal-rain-video/

[Poll_Blind]

1. I fear the shit out of the Sun. I just wanted to go "on the record" about that.

Whenever I read things like this, for some reason, I get The Fear. I don't trust the Sun. The fucker is one giant continuous pile of nuclear explosions. That always struck me as being flakier than a volunteer at a hemp festival. I mean, I'm sure it'll outlast me. But whenever I eyeball it, I give it the Squint Of Mistrust.

Oh, and that video (both views) is Epic. I have no words, no understanding of what's going on there. I'm very interested to read more analysis as the days go by, about this particular phenomenon.

PB

[Pharaoh]

2. It is the giver of life

and can easily take it away....

[Poll_Blind]

3. Yeah, that's definitely a big part of it. Maybe all of it.

I know this sounds odd, and it's clearly a sign of depressive realism but every once in a while I just wonder "What if the sun, you know, just...fucks up somehow?"

PB

[BadgerKid]

6. and taker of life....in about 5 billion years. n/t

[Igel]

15. Probably long before that.

It's supposed to gradually brighten so that in a billion years or so there won't be any liquid water left on Earth. A few extremophiles might be able to get by, but probably not much else.

[joshcryer]

7. Not can, will. It will destroy all life on the planet.

That is a certainty.

[whirlygigspin]

5. "flakier than a volunteer at a hemp festival"

luv it

(insert Australian accent)--good on ya mate

[freshwest]

9. I fear that creepy Moon more. That's where the aliens manipulating our thoughts live, watching us......

:hi:

:woohoo:

[Mz Pip]

16. I understand

This is something we have absolutely zero control over. That big old ball of plasma out there can go off without warning. Not that warning would matter much.

Eventually, a few billion years down the road, the sun will just blow up and swallow the sun. Then it will just be a really big star and maybe Jupiter might be a good place to live.

BUt I think we are more of a danger to our extinction than the sun at this point in time. Our sun is pretty stable for a star.

[msongs]

4. solar influence on humans - sunset = death, sunrise = resurrection. sound familiar? nt

[Kablooie]

8. But it's not Oct. 21 yet.

[freshwest]

10. Give the super nova time. It's coming. Make your travel arrangements, LOL!

[formercia]

12. I wouldn't want that Ejecta pointed im my direction.

I wonder if any broke free of the Sun's Gravitational Field.

[freshwest]

14. If it did escape the Sun's gravitational field, wouldn't it dissipate between there and here?

Still, take an umbrella when you go outside today, just in case.

:rofl:

[progressoid]

11. Holy Moley, that was cool!

[jimlup]

13. The sun has acne

And just popped a pimple.