The activity of our Sun is always under constant monitoring by space agencies and ground-based observatories. But also by astronomy enthusiasts who turn to research into the depths of the cosmos.
An astrophotographer has captured what he thought was the largest solar flare under his lens. It is an ejection of particles from the massive star that shot out about 1.6 million kilometers.
Can this affect Earth? Sure, but not perhaps as you think. For now, what stands out is the spectacle that this photographer recorded in images that are going around the world.
“Today the sun produced the largest coronal mass ejection I have ever witnessed. Here is my composite photo, created by capturing hundreds of thousands of images over several hours using a specially modified telescope,” photographer Andrew McCarthy wrote on his Reddit account, identifying himself as r/space.
Coronal mass ejection from the Sun
According to what the portal reviews Very interesting, what the photographer captured is known as a coronal mass ejection (CME). They are hot drops of plasma that come out charged with electricity and travel directly to the planets, including Earth.
This does not cause any problem in the development of life as we know it. The only thing that could affect is internet connections.
“The plasma was initially contained in a large loop connected to the sun’s surface, known as a prominence, and then broke up and flowed out into space at about 100,000 mph,” the photographer said.