Coronal Mass Ejection Glancing Blow: Alert for Northern Lights...

[jus_the_facts]

GLANCING BLOW: Arctic sky watchers should be alert for Northern Lights on Nov. 5th. NOAA forecasters say there is a chance that a coronal mass ejection (CME) will hit Earth's magnetic field, and the impact could spark a high-latitude geomagnetic storm. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded this movie of the CME:




The billon-ton cloud was blown into space by departing sunspot 1029 on Oct. 31st.

www.spaceweather.com

....is it just me or does it appear a meteor/comet may have hit the sun in that gif? :tinfoilhat:

[DJ13]

1. The V are here!

Oh wait, sorry that lizard was just Sarah Palin coming to town.

Never mind.

[alfredo]

2. Sure looks that way. Could the expulsion be a result of the impact?

[jus_the_facts]

6. It was ejecting before the *impact*...but looks as if it got stronger.....

...after...you can see the object go toward the sun but it doesn't show it go past it or behind it. Just an observation. :shrug:

[alfredo]

9. It's really hard to tell. A lot of comets hit the sun. I've seen several. They'd

have to have a lot of mass and velocity to make a dint on the sun.

[jus_the_facts]

10. Very true...thought it was a trip and had to share. n/t

[alfredo]

11. In my journal I have a movie of a comet passing by the sun.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/alfredo/16

[jus_the_facts]

15. I remember that very well...an extraordinary sight to behold...

....beyond impressive and SOHO is always interesting...a favorite website of mine too. :)

[alfredo]

16. I love it. I captured the images from an app called Solscape. I then made

them into an animated GIF.

[myrna minx]

3. Uh oh. We'd better watch out for the Triffids. n/t

[Mz Pip]

4. I don't know

if a comet or meteor would survive the sun's heat and radiation to even make an impact. Maybe some science person can answer this.

[jus_the_facts]

8. I don't know either... just a very curious spectacle to behold...

...I'd welcome any science persons to chime in with their knowledge as well. :)

[GreenStormCloud]

12. It couldn't suvive. Temperature of sun's corona is about 1.5 Million C.

And the sun is hugely massive. A typical sunsport is the size of several Earths in diameter. A meteor or comet would not even be noticed if it hit the sun.

[Vinnie From Indy]

13. It would probably be ripped to shreds by the gravitational pull of the sun before it disintegrated

[FSogol]

5. Very cool. Thanks. n/t

[DearAbby]

7. Just a glancing blow..enjoy the lights

the big one wont hit until...........2012...pack your shit folks...:rofl:

[Blue_In_AK]

14. Too bad, it's kind of cloudy up here.

I've been trying to get photos of the Northern Lights for a few years now with no luck. They haven't been out as much as in the past.

[Orsino]

17. This was a referendum on the Obama Administration's first ten months...

...and bodes ill for Democratic hopes in 2010.

[Sinti]

18. It could just be a bit of space junk

that crossed the lens. I hope she's gentle with us as she starts her uptick in activity :)

edited for typo

[chaplainM]

19. Maybe the Sun and Moon are allies

And this is retaliation for bombing the Moon!