Mar 24, 2011 15:11 GMT  ·  By
SDO image showing the huge plasma tendril released by a solar eruption on March 19, 2011
   SDO image showing the huge plasma tendril released by a solar eruption on March 19, 2011

NASA solar physicists say that the Sun exhibited another sign that it's heading for a solar maximum recently. On March 19, a massive eruption on its surface led to the release of a huge plasma tendril into its surroundings. This is the third time in just a couple of months a major solar event occurs.

The phenomenon was captured by the American space agency's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), a spacecraft dedicated to monitoring the star and its activities. The telescope is a part of larger, international observations network that keeps track of what goes on on the Sun.

According to available data, the eruption ended in a solar prominence. This is the official scientific term given to instances when large masses of plasma are ejected from the star. The entire event laster for more than 5 hours, Space reports.

At that time, the SDO was observing the star in the ultraviolet (UV) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. This spacecraft is one of the few ever created that can see extreme UV (EUV) wavelengths.

After the eruption took place, experts say, the plasma began to twist and expand, until it finally lost internal cohesion and broke apart. The particles making it up then began to distance themselves from the solar surface.

Scientists explain that these prominences are only bound to the Sun by magnetic forces. When the eruption that causes them is sufficiently strong to push them far away from the surface, they escape this force, and separate from the star entirely.

The March 19 event is another indicator that Solar Cycle 24, which began on January 8, 2008, is gearing up for a July 2013 maximum. Each cycle lasts for 11 years, and periods of minimum and maximums alternate regularly. The 2013 maximum is expected to produce about 58 sunspots .

Keeping an eye on the Sun during this interval is very important because the star can unexpectedly produce large solar flares. These event release billions of tons of highly-charged particles into the solar system, and some of them may direct these particles to Earth.

This is dangerous to our planet because the solar radiation can affect power grids, transformers and other electrical components, as well as satellites in Earth's orbit. It can easily fry electrical systems on the International Space Station as well, jeopardizing the safety of astronauts.

SDO, SOHO, STEREO and other solar telescopes are monitoring the Sun's activity so that they can warn us when such a solar flare is produced. If we are warned in time, we can take measures to ensure that no significant damage comes to our power grids.