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Largest Coronal Mass Ejection Recorded
On June 7, 2011 the Sun unleashed an M-2 (medium-sized) solar flare, an S1-class (minor) radiation storm and a spectacular coronal mass ejection (CME) from sunspot complex 1226-1227. The large cloud of particles and plasma mushroomed up and fell back down looking as if it covered an area of almost half the solar surface.
The video below shows four records of the event.
The first is a video from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) at a wavelength of 304 Angstroms (ultraviolet).
The second is a video from the SDO at wavelengths 211, 193 and 171 Angstroms (extreme ultraviolet). The graph at the top shows corresponding x-ray measurements of the event from the GOES-15 satellite.
The third is a coronograph from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) B satellite. The STEREO Behind (B) satellite follows behind the Earth in it's orbit of the Sun, while the STEREO Ahead (A) satellite precedes the Earth as it circles the Sun.
The fourth is a video from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) C3 coronograph.
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