An astrophotographer captured this stunning image of a plume-like plasma shot out of the Sun.
The fiery filament, also known as an a coronal mass ejectionAccording to the photographer, (CME) was extended into space at a distance greater than 1,000,000 miles (1.6 Million kilometers) from the solar surface.
This image was taken Sept. 24, by a professional astrophotographer from Arizona. Andrew McCarthyHe shared the amazing Reddit view with us on Sept. 25, in the subreddit r/space.
CME was a part of a minor solar storm – G-1 class, the lowest category on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geomagnetic Storm Scale – and was pointed away from EarthAccording to SpaceWeather.com.
McCarthy stated that the ethereal CME was “the largest CME” he’d ever seen.
Initially, plasma was kept in a large loop connected directly to the SunMcCarthy said that the surface of the prominence was then broken off and rushed into space at approximately 100,000 mph (161,000 km/h).
Related: Can a solar storm ever cause the destruction of Earth?
McCarthy wrote that the photo is false-color composite, time-lapsed image that combines hundreds of thousands of images over a six hour period.
Every second, between 30 to 80 images were captured. The files were eventually stored at 800 gigabytes. The images were then merged to show the CME in amazing detail.
In the photo, the Sun’s surface and CME appear orange – but in reality, they are not. The CMEs and the chromosphere, which is the lowest part of the Sun’s atmosphere, naturally emit a light type that appears pinkish-red. This light is called hydrogen-alpha or H-alpha light.
The original images were nearly white because of the short exposure times. McCarthy added the orange digitally to the final image while composing it. This was done to emphasize the CME and provide contrast between the structures on the solar surface.
The Sun’s eerie white halo stands out against the space background because it was not filtered with orange.
In recent months, CMEs have been more common as the Sun enters a period with increased solar activity. This is known as the solar max, which lasts approximately seven years. People will have more chances to capture similar images.
McCarthy wrote that “we’ll see more these as we go further into solar maximum.” He also said that the plasma plumes would likely grow “progressively larger”.
The photographer cautioned people against trying to observe Sunlight without proper equipment.
McCarthy: “Do not point your telescope at the Sun.” SubmittedReddit. “You’ll fry or worse, burn your camera and your eyes!”
To photograph the CME, the telescope he used was “specially modified using multiple filters”, he said.
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This article was originally published in Live Science. Please read the Original article here.
