EIT images of a solar flare
Date: 30 October 2003
Satellite: SOHO
Depicts: Solar flare
Copyright: SOHO/EIT (ESA & NASA)
Active region 10486 on the Sun, which was already under close scrutiny by several instruments on board SOHO and other satellites, as well as numerous ground observatories, started up a spectacular two-part show in the morning on Tuesday 28 October 2003.
An X 17.2 flare, the second largest flare observed by SOHO, set off a strong high energy proton event and a fast-moving Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), hitting the Earth early on Wednesday 29 October. The encore came on Wednesday afternoon, when an X 10.0 flare from the same active region set off another round of particles and another fast-moving CME.
These images from the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) on board SOHO show the Sun on 28 October 2003, and were taken through a filter centred at 195 Ångström. The image on the left is from 11:12 UT and shows the first of the two flares. The image on the right was taken between the two flares, at 23:45 UT, when the instrument was showered in the ensuing storm of energetic particles from the Sun.
The two images can also be downloaded individually from the right-hand menu under "related images".
