Plasma structure flare on the Sun recorded three times the distance to the Moon

Astrophysicists have recorded the separation of a giant solar prominence about a million kilometers long. The ejection is directed towards the north pole of the star and does not pose a danger to the planets of the Solar System.

For comparison, this distance is three times the average distance between the Earth and the Moon (~384,000 km). The trajectory of the object is oriented almost perpendicular to the ecliptic — the plane of revolution of the planets — which excludes the possibility of direct impact on the Earth's magnetosphere or orbital infrastructure.

Such events are not considered unique: during 2025, researchers repeatedly recorded ejections of prominences of comparable scale. The last documented case of this kind was recorded in November last year. Nevertheless, each such episode is of scientific interest, as it allows us to refine models of the dynamics of the solar corona and the mechanisms of plasma acceleration in extreme magnetic fields.

From the point of view of space weather, giant prominences are among the most potentially dangerous phenomena. The high density of ionized matter, combined with the intensity of the magnetic field, is theoretically capable of provoking geomagnetic disturbances, malfunctions in satellites and navigation systems.

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Sources
Laboratoriya solnechnoy astronomii Instituta kosmicheskih issledovaniy RAN
2026-03-04 08:17:43 Andrey Rudkovskiy Science
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