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Solar activity, SDO image
Solar activity, SDO image. Coloured image of the surface of the Sun, showing one of an unusual series of eruptions that led to a series of fast 'puffs', which forced the slow ejection of a massive burst of solar plasma from the Sun's corona (outermost atmosphere). The puffs occurred roughly once every three hours. After around 12 hours, a much larger eruption of material began. Data, including that used to create this image, enabled scientists to conclude that the source of the puffs was a series of energetic jets and related flares - localised catastrophic releases of energy that spew material out from the Sun, into space. Imaged by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in three wavelengths of light, on 17th January 2013.
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