                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2026 January 13

                          A Solar Eruption from SDO
    Video Credit: NASA, SDO, AIA, Helioviewer; Processing & Text: Ogetay
                                Kayali (MTU)

   Explanation: What just leapt from the Sun? A towering structure of
   solar plasma suddenly rose from the Sun's surface and unfurled into
   space -- a structure so large that many Earths would easily fit within
   it-- marking the onset of a dramatic Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). The
   event was captured in striking detail in late 2024 by NASA's Solar
   Dynamics Observatory (SDO), whose continuous monitoring improves space
   weather forecasts and helps humanity better understand how solar
   activity affects satellites, GPS, radio communications, and power grids
   on Earth. The featured video blends three extreme-ultraviolet views
   from SDO’s Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), revealing how plasma at
   different temperatures surged upward as the eruption unfolded. Here,
   red highlights cooler, denser material lifted from the Sun’s lower
   atmosphere, while yellow traces hotter, million-degree coronal loops
   stretching outward as magnetic fields open. After the main outburst,
   the Sun’s magnetic fields quickly reorganize.

                      Tomorrow's picture: pool of whirl
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

