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7 hours ago
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A massive explosion of solar plasma erupted from the sun on Wednesday, and scientists say this may be just the beginning.
NASA satellites caught the dramatic moment when a blazing arc of superheated material burst from the Sun's northeastern edge, large enough to stretch across 30 Earths.
The violent blast carved out a 250,000-mile-long 'canyon of fire', with walls of glowing plasma rising more than 12,000 miles high, roughly the height of Earth's diameter.
The eruption was caused by a solar filament, a thick ribbon of solar material, which snapped and collapsed, firing off a giant cloud of particles known as a coronal mass ejection (CME).
While this CME isn't expected to hit Earth, experts are warning that the sun is becoming more active, and future eruptions could strike our planet head-on.
If one does, it could unleash a geomagnetic storm, a powerful solar disturbance that has the potential to knock out power grids, satellites, and GPS systems.
The warning comes as solar activity ramps up during its current cycle, increasing the risk of Earth being caught in the path of a direct hit.
It was triggered by a solar filament, a dense, rope-like ribbon of solar material, that suddenly snapped and collapsed and shoot a coronal mass ejection (CME)
NASA satellites captured the colossal explosion as it exploded off the sun's northeastern edge, blasting a glowing arc of superheated material enough to stretch across 30 Earths
While astronomers feared the violent burst of energy could hit Earth, the space weather forecast shows our planet is in the clear of a geomagnetic storm.
However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's space weather center listed a 60 percent chance of radio blackouts today and into the weekend due to solar activity.
NASA says the blast was so intense it twisted and tore the sun's magnetic field, leaving behind a glowing trench of charged particles where the explosion ripped through.
Similar outbursts from the sun have already wreaked havoc, including a May solar storm that sparked auroras across the US, lighting up skies from California to Alabama and prompting warnings about possible power outages and satellite disruptions.
The latest eruption was caused by a solar filament, a massive ribbon of dense material that floats above the sun's surface.
These filaments are held in place by invisible magnetic forces, but when those break down, the entire structure can collapse and explode.
Tony Phillips, an astronomer who manages Spaceweather.com, said: 'Debris from the filament flew through the sun's atmosphere, carving a 'canyon of fire' more than 248,548 miles long.
'The walls of the canyon are at least 32,186 miles high--a grand canyon, indeed.'
CMEs like this are massive clouds of solar material hurled into space when the Sun's magnetic fields shift violently
Phillips also noted that the eruption hurled a CME into space, but at the time, astronomers feared it was on a direct path toward Earth.
'We don't yet know if there is an Earth-directed component. Confirmation awaits additional images from [NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)].
SOHO is a project of international cooperation between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA to study the sun, from its deep core to the outer corona, and the solar wind.
Another massive solar eruption occurred in May, but this one measured about 600,000 miles wide, making it more than twice as long as the distance from the Earth to the moon.
Stunning video recorded by NASA's solar observation satellites shows the moment that filaments of plasma 75 times larger than Earth peeled away from the sun in a pair of sweeping 'wings.'
