What is this comming out of our star?

Hi all, first off I'd like to appologize if this is posted in the wrong forum. I found this picture taken from the Atmospheric Imaging Array on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. It's an app NASA offers, and its pretty cool, you get live pictures of the sun!

I took a peak today at around 3:00 pm MDT, and in the picture I downloaded, I noticed an object jetting straight out from the sun. It seems to have a wake running behind it, and does not appear to be affected by the magnetic or gravitational influenses of the sun.

The object in question is comming out of the lower right quadrant of the sun. I assume it would be the size of a small moon like Phoebos or so to be visable to the SDO. Keep in mind, I'm just speculating.

Here's the full picture from SDO:

img846.imageshack.us...


And here's the .... thing...

img138.imageshack.us...




I have no good ideas as to what this thing is, and so I'm posting this thread here.

Interesting find, star and flag for you...

Sorry I can't offer any suggestions as to what it might be, your guess is as good as mine! I'm sure there is a logical explanation though... PHAGE...

Ahhh wait, scratch that! Maybe it is a comet/meteorite shooting past the sun? Making it appear to be coming from it... It could be many miles away from the sun in fact...

My first thought would be maybe a comet?? But then again, who knows. Good find never the less

I really have no clue as to what that is but here are some of my observations.

-Object is traveling in an apart straight line
-Does not appear to have the similar characteristics of a solar flare
-Appears to be solid with a heated gas trail
-It has some element of movement.
-Appears to have shot out from the sun itself.

My best guess would be some kind of condensed material from the surface of the sun was ejected out and away due to some kind of pressure build up.

I can undermine my own guess by suggestion that any dense material would have a hell of a time escaping the suns gravity.

But to be safe i will still call this a natural event.

hi,
is any video available of this?

reply to post by PollyPeptide


That is very interesting op, it has to be bigger than a small moon, look at it size, it must be close to "the moon's" size at least. Maybe even mars sized.

Lest just try ti widdle down the possibilities, to come to a better understanding of what it could be.

It isn't a comet, as the tail faces the sun instead of away, it isn't a meteor, as it would have to be moving at extreme speed to encroach on the suns corrona and be slowed and sucked in. It isn't a planet, unless mercury decided to change orbit to a much closer, out of plane trajectory. It isn't a man made structure as the size is bigger than all the rescourses ever harvetsed by man cmbined.

Well I am out of the obvious, so let's try the not so obvious.

That is not a lens flare, that is not a CME ( corronal mass ejection) as they are clouds of plasma not apparently solid objects. That is deffinetely not a small eruption of a sun spot, as they usually look exactly like CMEs, only smaller when it comes from a small sun spot.

I am not one that ever jumps on the "aliens "bandwagon, as I think them travelling the void to come see us, is a silly as waste of near infinite rescources.

Having said all that. ALIENS!!!!????

BTW that is the first time I have ever said that as a probable explanation to a thread that was about science.

reply to post by PollyPeptide


The images are produced by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor. This is an array of photosensitive elements, the same as you get in modern digital cameras.

If a cosmic ray or ionized particle strikes the array, it produces a bright pixel that may seem out of place. If the electrical charge on the particle is high enough, it can affect adjacent pixels as the charge dissipates towards electrical ground for the array.

This is what, I believe, we are seeing in this image. The straightness of the "track path" and its purely vertical nature would argue for a CCD error rather than an imaging of a real world object.

Also, glitches like this are usually short lived (based upon the "refresh" time of the CCD array) and so in astrophotography, shutter open and shutter closed images are combined (subtractively) to eliminate short duration artifacts like this. Images are also recaptured to eliminate such spurious effects. In other words, this is most likely a known common problem with the raw and unprocessed images taken in space.

reply to post by chr0naut


Interesting, thanks for the info.

How common are these artifacts showing up on this kind of imaging? and how would one be able to determine if a object is really present?

I would say we need several frames of the artifact to be able to classify it as actually existing.

reply to post by chr0naut


Most of the time when it is a cosmic ray striking receptors, it isn't such a strong "spot" followed by a much darker trail.

It is usually a trail starting light and getting gradually darker over the curse of the cosmic ray passing at an angle from barely touching to more annd more penetration across the receptors as it goes.

This on has a clearly defined "spot" and immediately gets factors less intense, fading very slowly .

Maybe it is a result of a direct head on ray strike, and another ray hitting from an angle at the same spot, making a very bright spot, and a fading trail.

This seems unlikely though, as the chances are astronomical. Not to say impossible though, as anything possible will happen, no matter how improbable, given enough time.

So yes there is a chance, but it is very remote. Still a lot better than aliens IMO.

Not sure directly related, but check out this video of a massive eruption on the sun. It happened today! Its beautiful


Link
That looks like quite a powerful burst of energy. I know we have discussed that possibility this was a camera artifact, but could an event like the one depicted above have sufficient power to spit out a dense projectile from the surface of the sun?

Cool find given you a star
Now can someone please page Phage

Originally posted by mee30
Interesting find, star and flag for you...

Sorry I can't offer any suggestions as to what it might be, your guess is as good as mine! I'm sure there is a logical explanation though... PHAGE...

Ahhh wait, scratch that! Maybe it is a comet/meteorite shooting past the sun? Making it appear to be coming from it... It could be many miles away from the sun in fact...

edit on 2-9-2012 by mee30 because: (no reason given)

actually this is quite a good explanation will check again in the morning

Before anyone makes threads like these,, the OP should just PM Phage the source...

Is it perfectly aligned with the sensor? Probably an imaging artifect. End.

reply to post by PollyPeptide


Don't try to scare me with that pathetic picture.

It looks to be solid, maybe a chunk of whatever the sun is made of that got turned to a solid. Possibly some sort of residue formed from reactions.

reply to post by PollyPeptide



Could be this, captured earlier this year.

Whatever the heck it is, it's beautiful. I forgot whom said it, but I would have to agree that what we know about space, is that we don't know anything about it. All in all, great post!!!

reply to post by SepticSceptic


What the....!

Did you see the face at 0.10 staring out at us...



right in the middle of the frame. Two eyes, nose, and mouth, and even what appears to be horns rising up just above the eyes...I've heard of the man-in-the-moon, but never seen the man-in-the-sun before...

Here. It is a solar flare.