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Updated28/07/2026 01:00 
 




NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

🌌 NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Red Sun Streaming

Date: 1997-01-07

Red Sun Streaming

View HD Image

Explanation:

The Sun is leaking. In fact, it is gushing:
particles stream away from the Sun
at hundreds of kilometers per second. Some of these particles
strike the Earth and cause aurora.
Most particles, however, either surround the Sun
as a huge solar corona
or glide into interstellar space
as the solar wind.
Don't worry about the Sun
totally evaporating - it loses too little mass to have any lasting
effect. The above false-color picture
was taken with the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronograph
on board the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory
(SOHO). This instruments blocks out the central solar disk so
it can image the regions surrounding the Sun.
The large streamers visible are typical. Where these charged ions get their enormous streaming energy is still a mystery!