Coronal Mass Ejection

If only every mass ejection were so pretty, right? Maybe pretty’s not the appropriate word—this occurred on May Day, a gargantuan wave of solar wind spitting matter (electrons, protons, plastic bags, empty Big Gulps, whatnot) and electromagnetic radiation outward from the sun. Towards, you know, the rest of us. No wonder I’ve been feeling weird all week: the magnetosphere’s in shambles. The video compresses events that in real time (forgive me), lasted about two and a half hours. I’ve been searching for the un-cut version, so far without luck. But you should know, per NASA: “the sun’s normal eleven-year activity cycle is ramping up toward solar maximum, which is expected in late 2013.” Something to look forward to. Also in helio-news, and perhaps more importantly: researchers announced last week that the core of the earth is hotter than the surface of the sun. About 6000 degrees centigrade, turns out. Look no further, omphalos-gazers, it’s getting hot in here.