Lotsa Loops 
As an active region rotated into view, SDO got a good profile look at the constantly changing magnetic field lines arcing high above it (Feb. 23-27, 2011). In extreme ultraviolet light the multitude of lines are revealed because charged particles are spinning along them. The interactions seen here are within an extensive and busy action region. If you watch the clip closely, you can see an eruptive blast (along with a strong flare) from the leading region near the beginning of the clip. These regions will be facing Earth beginning March 3, so for about the following week they could generate “space weather†effects.
Search Tag(s): 171, loops, flares, eruption
Movies
- 171AR_Feb_best.mov - mov
- 171AR_Feb_small.mov - mov
- 171AR_Feb_1024.mpg - mpeg
- 171AR_Feb_small.mpg - mpeg