Obrazem: Sluneční erupce na snímcích NASA

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TRACE gives scientists a close-up view of the sunspot region 486 thanks to higher spatial and temporal resolution. Click for higher resolution version. Credit: NASA / LMSAL The strongest flare of this solar cycle, in April 2000, a category X20 flare, was not directed at Earth. The Sun's activity varies on an 11-year cycle, with the strongest "solar max" years in 2000-2001. Powerful flares often erupt during the declining phase of the cycle, however, says Fleck. Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) can be associated with solar flares, though scientists don't know which comes first. The violent discharges of electrically charged gas from the Sun's corona are the largest explosions in the solar system. CMEs launch up to 10 billion tons of ionized gas into space at speeds of one to two million miles an hour. CMEs can cause magnetic storms by interacting with the Earth's magnetic field, distorting its shape and accelerating electrically charged particles trapped within. The increased solar activity is also having an effect on the International Space Station. Tuesday and Wednesday, the Expedition 8 crew of Commander Mike Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri will spend brief periods of time in the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module, which is the location aboard the Station most shielded from higher levels of radiation. The crew will spend about 20 minutes in Zvezda, twice on each orbit of the Earth for about three orbits, until the station phases out of the high radiation areas (high magnetic latitudes). Asking the crew to periodically and briefly relocate to Zvezda is not unprecedented. Expeditions 2 & 3 briefly "avoided" high radiation periods in April and November 2001.
Působivý pohled na sluneční erupci z dubna 2000. | Foto: NASA