Solar Orbiter observed this coronal mass ejection (CME) on 19 November 2022.
A CME is a vast eruption of billions of tonnes of plasma and accompanying magnetic fields from the Sun’s outer atmosphere.
The Metis instrument images the Sun’s outer atmosphere by artificially covering its bright disc, similar to what happens during a total solar eclipse. In this movie, the Sun’s size and position is depicted by the white circle.
This CME was associated with a swell of energetic electrons, also picked up by Solar Orbiter. Read more about how Solar Orbiter traced these superfast electrons back to CMEs on the Sun.
The new research is published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics, as part of a public catalogue of Solar Energetic Electron events observed by Solar Orbiter.
[Image description: The image shows a circular, reddish-brown pattern radiating outward from a dark central circle. The outer ring is filled with streaks and bursts of light, resembling solar rays or an explosion. The center is black with two thin concentric circles, and the bottom of the image displays the date and time 19 Nov 2022, 13:44. The image shows the Sun’s outer atmosphere, with a coronal mass ejection bursting from the top right of the Sun.]