Last February 15, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Solar Orbiter spacecraft, built in cooperation with NASA, was busy doing its regular duties of observing the Sun when our home star suddenly released a gigantic eruption from its surface. The spacecraft just so happened to snap a photo of the Sun as it went through this momentary phase of activity, giving us images of what appears to be the largest solar prominence ever observed.
These colossal explosions on the surface of our star are a product of tangled magnetic fields carrying solar plasma above the surface of the Sun, which sometimes forms arching loops that eventually return to the solar surface. These events are also known to pose a risk to Earth-based communications and technology, as any resulting coronal mass ejections (CMEs) headed our way are sure to interfere with orbiting satellites and surface electrical infrastructure.
Luckily for us, this February 15 eruption was directed away from Earth, especially given the fact that gathered data suggest the eruption’s origin was from the side of the Sun facing away from our planet, leaving us to peacefully spectate the Sun’s latest demonstration of the energies that lie within it.
This unique moment was captured by the Solar Orbiter’s Full Sun Imager (FSI), which itself is a part of the spacecraft’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI). Additionally, accompanying space telescopes like the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) provided complimentary views of the eruption, with other probes like the Parker Solar Probe also watching the event from afar.
According to the ESA press release, the eruption was so powerful that even other spacecraft that weren’t necessarily studying the Sun detected a surge of charged particles after the event, like the BepiColombo mission near Mercury’s orbit, which is a joint project between the ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
References
- Giant solar eruption seen by Solar Orbiter. (2022, February 18). The European Space Agency. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/Giant_solar_eruption_seen_by_Solar_Orbiter
- Szondy, D. (2022, February 20). Solar Orbiter snaps giant solar eruption in unprecedented image. New Atlas. https://newatlas.com/space/solar-eruption-cmi-solar-orbiter-esa-photo-sun/
