Solar Activity

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare on the right side of the sun on May 22, 2013.

NASA's SDO Observes Mid-level Solar Flare

The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, an M7 class, on the morning of May 22, 2013.

A combined view from two NASA satellites of the coronal mass ejection that occurred on May 17, 2013, at 5:36 EDT.

NASA’s STEREO Detects a CME From the Sun

On 5:24 a.m. EDT on May 17, 2013, the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME, a solar phenomenon that can send billions of ...

SDO image of a solar flare on 3 May 2013

Sun Emits Mid-Level Flare

The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare on May 3. Large enough flares can disrupt radio signals, but this flare's "blackout" has already subsided.

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Aurora as seen in Keller, Washington on April 14, 2013.

Spring Fling: Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare

The CME impact on April 13 was weak but it still produced high latitude aurora. The sun emitted a mid-level flare, peaking at 3:16 a.m. EDT on April ...

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Three Years of SDO Images

composite SDO image of sun from April 2012-April 2013
05.10.13

Since it first provided images of the sun in spring 2010, SDO has had virtually unbroken coverage of the sun's rise toward solar maximum.

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NASA's SDO Sees an Eclipse And a Transit

The view of the sun is partially obscured by Earth as seen by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory on Mar. 11, 2013, at 2:20 a.m. EDT.
03.11.13

On Mar. 11, 2013, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught a rare sight on camera: the sun with both Earth and the moon passing in front of it.

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SDO Shows A Little Rain On the Sun

On July 19, 2012, an eruption occurred on the sun that produced 3 results; 1) a moderately powerful solar flare, 2) a CME and 3) coronal rain.
02.20.13

On July 19, 2012, the sun treated viewers to one of its dazzling magnetic displays -- a phenomenon known as coronal rain.

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