A massive plume of plasma that erupted from the sun on Halloween briefly carved out an enormous "canyon of fire" on the solar surface that was twice as wide as the contiguous U.S. and more than seven times as long as Earth.
The enormous, fiery valley is another striking reminder that the sun is fast approaching its explosive peak — the solar maximum.
In the late hours of Oct. 31, a loop of magnetized plasma, known as a solar prominence, grew in the sun's southern hemisphere and became unstable, before breaking off and launching into space like a snapped elastic band, Spaceweather.com reported.
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The enormous, fiery valley is another striking reminder that the sun is fast approaching its explosive peak — the solar maximum.
In the late hours of Oct. 31, a loop of magnetized plasma, known as a solar prominence, grew in the sun's southern hemisphere and became unstable, before breaking off and launching into space like a snapped elastic band, Spaceweather.com reported.
Source