Earth-Directed Coronal Mass Ejection From the Sun Released Today

The sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME) today, March 15, 2013, at 2:54 a.m. EDT. It is a regular solar phenomenon that sends billions of tons of solar particles into space and, if it is aimed at Earth and strong enough, can reach our planet within one to three days later and affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground. Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and ESA/NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, show that the CME left the sun at speeds of around 1500 kilometers per second, which is quite fast for CMEs. Historically, CMEs at this speed have caused mild to moderate effects at Earth.

Not to be confused with a solar flare, a CME is a solar phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and reach Earth one to three days later. Earth-directed CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they connect with the outside of the Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. In the past, geomagnetic storms caused by CMEs such as this one have usually been of mild to medium strength. A positive effect of this are the beautiful northern lights that can arise from the charged particle bombardment.

The notice about this CME was as usual issued by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (https://swpc.noaa.gov), which is the United States Government official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.