Loops of superheated plasma far larger than Earth rain down on the solar surface in a dazzling video captured by NASAs sun-watching spacecraft. NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) watched as a medium-strength flare erupted from the sun on July 19, 2012. The blast also generated the enormous, shimmering plasma loops, which are an example of a phenomenon known as coronal rain, agency officials said. Hot plasma in the corona [the suns outer atmosphere] cooled and condensed along strong magnetic fields in the region, NASA officials wrote in a description of the four-minute video of solar plasma rain, which NASA released Feb 20, 2013. Magnetic fields are invisible, but the charged plasma is forced to move along the lines, showing up brightly in the extreme ultraviolet wavelength of 304 Angstroms, and outlining the fields as it slowly falls back to the solar surface, they added. — Mike Wall Space dot com: — bit.ly/1BZ8gFs - full article, + same video - 4:16 SPACE IV: — on.fb.me/1wIk4DG
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 12:10:09 +0000