What just leapt from the Sun?
A
towering structure of solar
plasma suddenly rose from the Sun's surface and unfurled into space -- a structure so large that many Earths would easily fit within it-- marking the onset of a dramatic
Coronal Mass Ejection (CME).
The event was captured in striking detail in late 2024 by NASA's
Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), whose continuous monitoring improves
space weather forecasts and helps humanity better understand
how solar activity affects satellites, GPS, radio communications, and power grids on Earth.
The featured video blends three
extreme-
ultraviolet views from SDO’s
Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), revealing how
plasma at different temperatures
surged upward as the eruption unfolded.
Here, red highlights cooler, denser material lifted from the
Sun’s lower atmosphere,
while yellow traces hotter, million-degree
coronal loops
stretching outward as magnetic fields open.
After the main outburst, the
Sun’s magnetic fields
quickly reorganize.