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NASA Records Solar Blast of Epic Proportions

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the i-burnt-my-fingers dept.

Arvisp writes "As predicted, the a 'mega-filament' of solar magnetism erupted on Dec. 6th, producing a blast of epic proportions. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the action as the 700,000-km long structure lifted off the stellar surface and--snap!!--hurled itself into space. The eruption produced a bright coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by the STEREO-A spacecraft: video. Earth was not in the line of fire; the cloud should sail wide of our planet. Earth-effects might be limited to pretty pictures."

8 of 123 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Interesting... by u17 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yes, and the most descriptive metrics measure the effect of CMEs in terms of the number of comments in articles posted about them on the Internet. Let's see how big this one can get.

  2. Re:Sunfart by spun · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sun says, "Oh, SNAP!"

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  3. Re:Had this been pointed at Earth? What then.. by spun · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm not up on these sorts of things, it does look quite spectacular though. Does anyone know what kind of effects we might have seen on Earth if this had been directly towards us?

    Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
    Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
    Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!
    Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  4. Re:Scale by TheNinjaroach · · Score: 5, Funny

    For scale, half the diameter of the Sun is a radius of the Sun.

    --
    I went to eat some animal crackers and the box said, "Do not eat if seal is broken." I opened the box and sure enough..
  5. Re:Had this been pointed at Earth? What then.. by countSudoku() · · Score: 2, Funny

    We're all dead from the last CME. This is a very elaborate dream-like state you're having just like in Brainstorm when they recorded that dead brain on the optical tape machine thing. Just go into the light... we can't keep this hallucination going for much longer.

    --
    This is the NSA, we're gonna geet U h@x0r5! Also, what is a h@x0r5?
  6. Re:To Paraphrase Dr. Manhattan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    You mean Blizzard didn't cause the flare as part of the Catalysm launch?

  7. Re:Article is very light on information... by Tumbleweed · · Score: 3, Funny

    We don't need such experience. We have physics

    One of the funniest things ever said on Slashdot. Congratulations!

  8. Re:Had this been pointed at Earth? What then.. by rtyhurst · · Score: 1, Funny

    Had this been pointed at Earth, cockroaches would now be the dominant species.

    The fact that pictures of Paris Hilton's poontang are freely available on the interwebs means for sure these are the End Times.

    I'm sure The Creator is just having a few practise shots before loading up The Rapture Cannon...