TRACE - Imaging Solar Eruption Dynamics
The Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE)
Flare Image (Courtesy Lockheed Martin)
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On 8 November 2000, a not so spectacular M7.4 flare went off around 22:42 UT in AR 9213, fading again by 00:05 UT, near the west limb of the Sun. The flare was associated with a coronal mass ejection, observed by the LASCO instrument on SOHO. The flare caused a very strong spray of highly energetic particles, that showered the SOHO instruments, and shortly afterwards reached the Earth. There, they populated the radiation belts with particles that were 100,000 times more frequent than the normal background density, slowly decaying with time. The CME associated with the event travelled towards the Earth at an average speed of 2000 km/sec, impacting on the Earth's magnetic field after only 31 hours, and sparking a strong (G3 class) geomagnetic storm (see GOES satellite data). (Text Courtesy Lockheed Martin) |
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