A towering eruption of plasma leaps from the Sun's surface on May 3. The image was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. (Image: NASA) If you visit this blog with any regularity, you might have guessed that I'm fascinated — some might even say obsessed — with images of the sun. The mind-blowing image above should show why. Captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, it shows a fountain of plasma being propelled 120,000 miles above the sun's surface by a solar flare. Here are further details from the SDO Facebook page:
This flare is classified as an M5.7-class flare. M-class flares are the weakest flares that can still cause some space weather effects near Earth. Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, as the sun's normal 11-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar maximum, which is expected in late 2013.
Ramping up indeed. Just a few ...
