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Giant Prominence Erupts
04.16.12
The prominence shot off the left side of the sun in association with an M1
class flare that was not Earth-directed. Credit: NASA/SDO/GSFC
A beautiful prominence eruption producing a coronal mass ejection (CME) shot
off the east limb (left side) of the sun on April 16, 2012. Such eruptions are often
associated with solar flares, and in this case an M1 class (medium-sized) flare
occurred at the same time, peaking at 1:45 PM EDT. The CME was not aimed toward
Earth.
An eruption on April 16, 2012 was captured
here by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in the 304 Angstrom wavelength, which
is typically colored in red. Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA
What is a prominence? What is a solar flare? What is a coronal mass ejection?