fr/spaceweather.com

ICONIC ERUPTION: A huge filament of magnetism and hot plasma blasted off the sun’s southwestern limb on March 19th around 1200 UT. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the action:

Click to view a full-disk, high-resolution image

The eruption was not Earth-directed, but it did attract plenty of attention on our planet. Many amateur astronomers in Europe witnessed the blast and said it was the biggest one they’d ever seen. This event continues the recent trend of increasing solar activity, and shows anew that Solar Cycle 24 is gaining steam after a long period of relative quiet.