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Mysteries of the Sun

AR1654 is a Monster Sunspot (aiming our way)

Like an enormous cannon that is slowly turning its barrel toward us, the latest giant sunspot region AR1654 is steadily moving into position to face Earth, loaded with plenty of magnetic energy to create M-class flares - moderate-sized outbursts of solar energy that have the potential to cause brief radio blackouts on Earth and, at the very least, spark bright aurorae around the upper latitudes.

The image above, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory earlier today, shows the structure of AR1654 upon the Sun's photosphere - its light-emitting “surface” layer. Stretching many tens of thousands of miles, this magnetic solar blemish easily dwarfs our entire planet.
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That's a helluva sunspot

A sunspot is a magnetically active region on the sun that appears dark because it’s relatively cooler than the surrounding area 6,000ºF (3,300ºC) versus 10,000ºF (5,500º C). Sunspots are where solar flares are most likely to occur since the magnetic fields in these active regions can build up enough energy to break, releasing bursts of intense radiation into the solar system.
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Here's video of that magnetic monster:


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This triptych shows a coronal mass ejection or CME as it burst off of the sun in the morning of Jan. 13, 2013. The images were captured by NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO). Credit: NASA/STEREO

On Jan. 13, 2013, at 2:24 a.m. EST, the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME. Not to be confused with a solar flare, a CME is a solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and reach Earth one to three days later.
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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/News011413-cme.html
 
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Here’s your amazing oh-my-gosh-space-is-so-cool video of the day — a “canyon of fire” forming on the Sun after the liftoff and detachment of an enormous 200000 miles long filament. The rift that formed afterwards was well over a dozen Earths wide!


That's so magnificent!
 
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Somehow that music reminds me of the soundtrack of Tiberian Sun.

Cool video for sure.
 
How come I can't edit my posts? Meh .. yknow youtube tags and blah

Anywhoo new amazing video:

 
W1zzard fixed that in the FS/FT thread, but not here for probably legit reasons.
 
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The Sun, as seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on the last day of 2013. This far-ultraviolet view shows magnetic activity on and above the surface of the nearest star to Earth.

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Earth is closer to the Sun in the wintertime, how ironic
 
Drone said:
Earth is closer to the Sun in the wintertime, how ironic
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What you call winter time is summer time for the folks on the southern hemisphere, silly. :)
 
Sun unleashes X-flare (the most powerful kind of solar flare), on January 7. It’s this year’s first X-flare.

 
New video!



Old sunspot pops a new flare plus a Lunar Transit :D Moon's appearance freaked me out lol!
 
The music perfectly fits the passing of the moon and the changes in "spectrum".
 

Breathtaking video showing four years of SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) in four minutes.
 
Mammoth Solar Flare Is The Biggest Of 2014 Yet (Feb. 24)

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NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory saw the flare growing in at least six different wavelengths of light, which are visible in the image above. This is classified as an X4.9-class flare, which shows that it is pretty strong.
 
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It’s a collage of images of the sun taken at different wavelengths, from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The different wavelengths reveal the aspects of the sun’s surface and atmosphere in a way one wavelength alone never could.
 
Still wondering why NASA hasn't probed the sun. All it has to measure is the distance from the launching communication satelite and the pressure on its hull. It would be phenomenal if it penetrated far enough in before disintegrating to hit something solid.

Dunno if you heard of this but it is supposed to launch in the next few years:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Probe_Plus
It doesn't send anything into the sun but it will be the closest satellite ever to orbit it.

It is expected to reach speeds of 120 miles per second while in orbit. That's approximately three times faster than the current record holder Helios 2 at 43.63 miles per second.
 
The heat would kill the probe long before it could even touch the outter surface. It is about 10k Fahrenheit or 5600 Celsius. All metal, even titanium, melts long before that temperature.
 
It would probably have to have a tungsten core, carbon lattice layers on top of that, and a system to drive pressurized gas (liquefied carbon dioxide most likely) out the nose to create a low-friction thermal barrier between it and the gases (think submarine-launched-missiles).

It would probably have to use Jupiter to gain velocity for impact with the sun.
 
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Give the sun some iron for it to be a strong boy!
 
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