Hungry Enough to Eat a Star?

Have you ever been so hungry you felt like you could eat a horse? How about an entire star? In March, something happened about 3.9 billion light years away that had scientists scratching their heads. X-rays began streaming towards Earth and some satellite images showed evidence of high-energy flares. It turns out that a black hole in a distant galaxy that had previously been asleep just activated and consumed a star. Talk about waking up with an incredible appetite!

Astronomers are still following the high-energy flares that keep appearing after this occurrence. They believe that amounts of gas are slowly depleting and this is what causes the flares. They think the star that got devoured just ended up getting too close to the black hole and was eaten up. Poor star!

{video credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab via here}

It's Heating Up

{image via Inhabitat}

The south is in the midst of a killer heatwave, with a forecast of 19 consecutive days of temperatures hitting 90 degrees or higher. This week also saw a unique space happening that was pretty hot. On Tuesday, the sun released a medium sized solar flare which caused particles to erupt in the shape of a mushroom and then fall back down and appear to cover almost half the solar surface.

{image via NASA}

NASA defines a solar flare as "an intense burst of radiation" that comes from "the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots." Did you know flares are the largest explosive events that take place in our solar system? They can last anywhere from just a few minutes to hours. Flares can be seen by the light they release and scientists monitor them using x-rays and optical light.

If you'd like to learn more about solar flares or watch some video footage of the one that took place this week, hop over here. As always, the internet is a great tool, but make sure you use it with an adult's permission or assistance. Keep cool friend!

An Out of this World Birthday!

{image credits}

Today at Janet’s Planet Space Log, we’re wishing NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) a Happy 1^st Birthday…won’t you celebrate with us by enjoying this virtual cupcake? Exactly one year ago today, the SDO was launched into space from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas rocket. During its first year, the observatory has sent back millions of pictures of the sun and information to help scientists understand it better.

The SDO has three instruments on board and one of these is called the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly. The AIA takes a picture of the sun every 12 seconds in 10 different wavelengths. That’s 5 pictures every minute! Even more than are taken of the most famous movie stars. You can actually go online and see these sun images, but just make sure to get your parents’ permission.

Scientists are happy that people have taken such an interest in the pictures. The sun has many different effects on our planet and it is good to better understand how it works. One event that takes place on the sun that scientists are learning more about is called a solar flare. Solar flares are huge explosions on the sun’s surface that emit X-rays. Scientists at NASA can use the Solar Dynamics Observatory to learn more about these complicated space happenings.

So Happy Birthday SDO! You might be only one year old, but you sure have accomplished many things in a short time! Keep it up…we’ll be watching!

Visit here for more images of the sun taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory!