Solar Tsunami !

[MacSA]

Dec. 7, 2006: The prototype of a new solar patrol telescope in New Mexico recorded a tsunami-like shock wave rolling across the visible face of the Sun following a major flare even on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006, at 18:28 Universal Time (11:28 MST). The shock wave, known as a Moreton wave, also destroyed or compressed two filaments of cool gas at opposite sides of the solar hemisphere.

Full Story: http://www.nso.edu/staff/dooling/tsunami/

 

[mufflon]

that's really cool, but does anyone know if this is a reoccuring phenomena that we just haven't registered as much before or if it's just old news?

 

[MacSA]

The last one was seen in 2004, you can view a full disk movie of the event here: http://www.nso.edu/staff/dooling/tsunami/tsunami-hlmovie.mpg Watch the dark filaments, one in the 6 o'clock position one at 10 o'clock, they disappear as the shock wave hits them.

 

[thedude110]

Ridiculously cool as always, MacSA.

What triggers an event like this? I can't imagine it happens with all "major flares," right? And what size is this cross-section of the sun? How many earths in it?

Thanks for the image and the link.

 

[ecche]

Ouch! That must have been one violent eruption! According to the timestamps on the video it only took 10 minutes or so to spread over this huge area. One can just imagine Mr Sun going "Oh dear , I think I left the gas cooker on....."BLAM

 

[MacSA]

That image cross section shows about half the Suns disk, which puts it at about 696,000km across (the Sun 1,392,000km in diameter), so it's about 55 Earths across.