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SOHO Captures Solar Eruption

Posted by timothy on from the apollo-rages dept.

Liora writes: "A Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite captures this awesome reminder of our own minuteness. There is an article mentioning it briefly from Lycos, but this is my favorite picture on the NASA site."

16 comments

  1. SOHO Website by jsimon12 · · Score: 2

    Though this was pretty relevant, some of the other pics are cool.

  2. OK so I'm immature... by Conare · · Score: 1, Funny

    "As this prominence became unstable, it erupted into the area"

    Science can be so exciting!

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    Stop Continental Drift! Reunite Gondwanaland!
  3. Earth next to the fireball, to scale by jsimon12 · · Score: 2

    Here is what the Earth would look like next to one of these puppies, probably would destroy all life here in the blink of an eye.

    1. Re:Earth next to the fireball, to scale by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well, putting the earth that close to the Sun would do that. However, if earth stays where it is, and given that no government has a current plan to move it; then even a direct hit would not cause more than a few service disruptions; it's happened before, plenty of times.

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      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
    2. Re:Earth next to the fireball, to scale by Liora · · Score: 1

      From the article "If eruptions like these are aimed at Earth, they can disturb Earth's magnetosphere, but this one was not directed at our planet." I admit I'm dumb, but I'm also curious. What do you mean by service disruptions?

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      Liora
    3. Re:Earth next to the fireball, to scale by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 2

      Power, telephony, GPS outages, loss of some satellites, also radio interference; that sorta thing. End of earth probably not included in package.

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      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
  4. Thank you Doctor Obvious...... by jsimon12 · · Score: 1

    I am well aware the Earth is safe and that being at that proximity to the Sun would vapoize our little ball of rock, the point was those solar flares are amazingly large.

    1. Re:Thank you Doctor Obvious...... by WolfWithoutAClause · · Score: 2

      Wow; you must be excessively clever.

      --

      -WolfWithoutAClause

      "Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"
  5. Minuteness... by hackwrench · · Score: 1

    Wait a minute! Is he calling us short? Sheesh.

  6. BBC has the story too by Rupert · · Score: 2

    Sun explodes

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    E_NOSIG
  7. Re:Q-Bert's cute, but what about Pac-Man? by astroboscope · · Score: 0

    Hey moderator, did you actually look at the image of the Sun being discussed?

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    If we were ants living on a Rubik's cube, differential geometry would be a little more confusing.
  8. WTF? by jsimon12 · · Score: 1

    Ya lost me on that response me bucko. Guess I ain't all that clever.