Coronal Mass Ejection, 2011-07-08

Image of a coronal mass ejection used in a public education display entitled "A Cosmic Connection: The Sun and it's Influence on Earth". The caption reads: Occasionally, tangled solar magnetic fields snap, releasing an enormous amount of pent-up energy in explosions called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). This image, a composite from multiple solar telescopes, shows a CME bursting outward, as seen on the right side of the image. Some CMEs propel their giaganitc swarms of particle radiation towards Earth. Image courtesy SOHO (NASA/ESA) and NCAR/HAO.