A solar storm created a dazzling light show in the northern latitudes of Earth on Tuesday. The storm also bombarded the Earth with radiation in the form of solar protons. The radiation storm is the largest of its kind since 2005 but still ranks only a three on the scale of one to five, enough to be considered "strong" but not "severe".
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Amazing Images Of The 2012 Solar Storm
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This Jan. 23, 2012 image provided by NASA, captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), shows an M9-class solar flare erupting on the Sun's northeastern hemisphere at 03:49 UT, just 4 days after a previous strong CME that sparked aurora around the world on the 22nd. A very fast coronal mass ejection (CME) traveling four million miles per hour (6.4 million kilometers per hour, is headed towards the Earth. A rush of radiation in the form of solar protons already has begun bombarding the Earth and is likely to continue through Wednesday. The radiation storm is the largest of its kind since 2005 but still ranks only a three on the scale of one to five, enough to be considered "strong" but not "severe". Credit: NASA / Getty Images
A solar storm created a dazzling light show in the northern latitudes of Earth on Tuesday. The storm also bombarded the Earth with radiation in the form of solar protons. The radiation storm is the la...
A solar storm created a dazzling light show in the northern latitudes of Earth on Tuesday. The storm also bombarded the Earth with radiation in the form of solar protons. The radiation storm is the la...
A solar storm created a dazzling light show in the northern latitudes of Earth on Tuesday. The storm also bombarded the Earth with radiation in the form of solar protons. The radiation storm is the la...
A solar storm created a dazzling light show in the northern latitudes of Earth on Tuesday. The storm also bombarded the Earth with radiation in the form of solar protons. The radiation storm is the la...
On Tuesday night, a solar storm created an impressive showing of the northern lights, dazzling residents of the world's northern latitudes. The particularly vibrant auroras...
First Posted: 01/25/2012 5:07 pm Updated: 01/25/2012 5:16 pm