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X-Class Solar Flare and Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)

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X-Flare - NASA
X-Class solar flare and coronal mass ejection (X-Class CME) on the Sun

This image was produced by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory using a combination of two wavelengths, of extreme ultraviolet light. The end result is a stunning depiction of a X-Class Solar Flare and the associated Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from the Sun. This X-Class CME which occurred on January 7, 2014 was directed towards the Earth, and may have resulted in bright auroras visible on certain parts of Earth when it impacted our planet’s magnetosphere. Thankfully it did not have any reported deleterious affects on the satellites in orbit or electrical systems and equipment on Earth.

This X-class solar event was measured at X1.2. The “X” classification denotes a significant solar event in the overall scale, which goes from A, B, C, M, X and Z – in ascending order. Within each classification, the numerical value represents its strength on a linear scale, so this X1.2 CME would be quite low within the “X” class measurement. For reference, the highest recorded solar flare was an X28 but it is believed by some that the 1859 Carrington Event, may have been a X40 solar flare and CME, generating massive solar storms on Earth. Unless we are prepared for a similar event today, it could result in catastrophic failures of electronic/electrical systems and significant loss of life.

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Triton, largest satellite of Neptune

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Triton is the largest satellite/moon of the planet Neptune and was discovered by British astronomer William Lassell on October 10, 1846.

Triton - NASA
JPL’s Voyager 2 mission took this picture of Triton’s southern pole

Voyager 2 took this close up image of satellite Triton during a close flyby on August 25, 1989. This composite image was constructed using about a dozen pictures and the colour correction was added to the lower resolution images.  Triton is relatively flat with some  outcrops, ridges, plateaus, icy plains and a few craters. The large south polar cap at the bottom of the image is highly reflective and slightly pink in color; it is believed that it may consist of a slowly evaporating layer of nitrogen ice deposited during the previous winter.

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Volcanoes on Io

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The Galileo spacecraft found many interesting landforms on Jupiter’s moon Io. Included are some that look like volcanoes, with active lava streams.

Io NASA
Many features of Io, including volcanoes

Several high-temperature volcanic hot spots have been detected in this region by both the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) and the solid state (CCD) imaging system on-board Galileo. The temperatures detected in this part of Io are consistent with active silicate volcanism in lava flows or inside irregular depressions called calderas (lava lakes).

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Alpha Centauri

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Alpha Centauri is the closest star to Earth (after the Sun), with its light taking just over 4 years to reach us (4.37 light years from the Sun).

Alpha Centauri NASA
Alpha Centauri star from the constellation of Centaurus

Alpha Centauri is the third brightest star in our night sky and can be found in the Centaurus constellation. Alpha Centauri is a binary star system composed of two stars – Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B. A third star, Alpha Centauri C or Proxima Centauri is a much fainter red dwarf star also in the mix.

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Comet Hale-Bopp

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Comet Hale-Bopp (designated C/1995 O1) was discovered on July 23, 1995 and was perhaps the most widely observed comet of the 20th century.

Hale Bopp - NASA
Comet Hale Bopp photographed by Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Space Telescope‘s Wide Field planetary camera tool these series of pictures of the comet between 1995 and 1996. They chronicle changes in the evolution of the nucleus of Comet Hale-Bopp as it moved closer to the sun and was hence warmed by it. Hale-Bopp passed perihelion on April 1, 1997 and was dubbed the Great Comet of 1997. Its lengthy period of visibility and extensive coverage in the media made Hale-Bopp one of the most-observed and talked about comets in history. This lead to all sorts of claims about it, including those associating it with UFOs and people who believed that Comet Hale-Bopp was actually Nibiru or Planet X.

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