NASA/ESA observatory records spectacular coronal mass ejection: Watch video

The joint NASA-ESA Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) observed a coronal mass ejection on Monday morning. A video of the spectacular eruption was shared by the mission team on Twitter.

For the unversed, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are massive bursts of plasma and magnetic fields that are ejected from the sun. They expand as they sweep through space, often measuring millions of miles across, and can collide with planetary magnetic fields.

CMEs are sometimes associated with solar flares but can occur independently. According to multiple reports, this latest CME was associated with a moderate M3-class flare.

The Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instrument onboard the observatory captured the view of today's CME. LASCO comprises three telescopes (C1, C2 and C3), each of which looks at an increasingly large area surrounding the Sun. This event was recorded by the SOHO LASCO C3.

Below is the view of today's CME as seen from the LASCO C3 camera: 

And here the view of today's CME as seen by the outer LASCO C3 coronagraph. The white circle in the middle indicates the position and size of the Sun. pic.twitter.com/20lh8Kv5Vm

— SOHO_Mission (@MissionSoho) June 13, 2022

Launched in December 1995, the SOHO mission aims to study the Sun inside out, from its internal structure to the extensive outer atmosphere, to the solar wind that it blows across the solar system. It constantly watches the Sun, returning spectacular pictures and data of the storms that rage across its surface.