SDO | Gallery

« Return to gallery index

Bookmark and Share

Coronal Loops, Anyone?

Loops171.jpg
 
 

SDO captured a splendid example of expanding coronal loops seen in profile at the edge of the Sun (Oct. 14-15, 2014). The bright loops began to form and grow after a long-lasting M-class flare erupted. The arcs of the loops we see in extreme ultraviolet light are actually particles spiraling along magnetic field lines arcing above the active region that was the source of the flare. They are reorganizing the magnetic field after its disruption. To give a sense of scale, these huge loops are reaching out more than 15 times the size of Earth. Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.

Search Tag(s): aia, 171, loops, flares

 

Movies

 

Print version

 

Gallery Index