MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. A mysterious object recently spotted near the Sun by the LASCO telescope is most likely a massive ejection of the coronal mass, a cloud of charged elementary particles, Senior Research Fellow at the Moscow Physical and Technical University Evgenia Kravchenko said.
Russian astronomers reported earlier on images received using the LASCO telescope on May 24. They show an object that resembles a giant firebird.
"In the images taken from the LASCO telescope, we can see a cloud of charged particles (protons, helium nuclei, electrons, etc.) heated to millions of degrees and ejected from the corona as a result of its [the Sun] magnetic field’s activity. Such ejections are accompanied by powerful flares and can grow to enormous sizes. The size of this ejection is 150,000 km - that’s ten times bigger than the Earth’s diameter. It is 2 mln km above the visible disc of the Sun. Its unusual shape is a random optical effect," Kravchenko said, cited by the press service.
The huge cloud of charged particles shot into interplanetary space at a high speed, the astrophysicist estimated. If the ejection was directed towards the Earth, it would cause bright polar lights. However, it occurred on the border of the solar disc and "will not particularly affect us," she added.
"Despite the scale, this is a fairly regular phenomenon for the Sun. Such ejections occur regularly, particularly in periods of high solar activity. We are passing right now through the maximum of the 11-year cycle," the scientist added.