Two loops of “dark” plasma erupted from the Sun yesterday (July 21st) and were captured on video by a NASA spacecraft.
NASA Solar Observation Satellite (SDO) has observed two loops of cold, dense plasma erupting from the Sun’s surface, eerily similar to Harry Potter’s two Dementors hovering above the Sun.
But rather than soul-sucking mythical creatures, these dark loops of plasma are actually the early stages of a coronal mass ejection (CME) – a very large magnetic disturbance that could trigger a solar storm that will affect Earth.
In the fast-forwarded video, you can see two thin, black plumes of plasma ejected from sunspot AR3757 on Sunday, as well as an M1-class solar flare. These active sunspot regions can eject electromagnetic energy from the sun’s corona at any time, and as these plumes leave the sun’s atmosphere, they pick up more plasma, eventually solidifying into the innermost components of a CME.
So why does the plasma appear darker than its surroundings? Because the plasma is swirling away from the Sun, it’s much less dense and hotter than the cores of our solar system’s giant molten bodies, which is why it appears dark in SDO images.
When a CME occurs, scientists SOHO Coronagraph The goal is to discover this characteristic halo and determine whether it propagates toward Earth and could have some effect on the planet.
and Current predictions According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) The CME is expected to reach Earth late in the afternoon of Wednesday, July 24, causing further increases in geomagnetic activity.
So for all the aurora chasers, this could bring a vibrant show of color to the night skies across several northern and upper Midwestern states stretching from New York to Idaho.
