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Behold: The 62,000-Mile-High ‘Plasma Waterfall’ That Erupted From The Sun

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The ‘waterfall’ of plasma on the Sun is a polar crown prominence. (Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau)
A stunning solar “waterfall” has been spotted on the surface of the sun.

The
picture, taken by astrophotographer Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau on March
9, shows a wall of plasma being shot “some 100,000 kilometers” – or
about 62,000 miles – up towards space, Poupeau told Spaceweather.com.

That’s high enough to engulf about eight Earths.

The plasma then seems to be cascading back down to the sun, giving the structure its “waterfall” nickname.

“On
my computer screen, it looked like hundreds of threads of plasma were
dripping down a wall. It really was a spectacle that left me
speechless,” Poupeau told the publication.

Scientists estimate that the plasma is falling back down at tremendous speeds – up to 22,370 mph per Space.com.

These plasma waterfalls are the solar equivalent to Earth’s auroras

This structure is what is called a polar crown prominence.

Prominences
on the sun usually take the form of giant tentacles of hot plasma,
stretching out towards space in a big arc, as can be seen below.

But
when these prominences happen near the poles of the sun, more
specifically around the polar circle, the magnetic fields are so strong
that instead of bursting towards space, the plasma can cascade back down
to the sun very quickly.

Because of the location of these prominences, NASA likens them to
aurora, because they circle the poles at about 60 to 70 degrees of
latitude on the sun.

( Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau )

“Instead of Northern Lights, however, the sun’s ovals are filled with dancing sheets of plasma,” per a NASA blog post.

You can see these structures lining up around the polar circle below.

The sun is nearing a peak of activity

This is just the latest of a string of brilliant solar events that have happened in recent months as our sun nears a peak of activity.

About
every decade, the sun’s magnetic poles flip, which causes havoc with
local magnetic fields that are bursting all over our star. In that
period, remarkable solar events are more likely to happen.

Examples of recent solar events include:

A plasma vortex swirling like a whirlpool around the solar pole.
A massive coronal “hole” in our sun that spewed energy towards the Earth in recent weeks.
Auroras spotted as far down as New Mexico.
A solar “tornado” the size of 14 Earths that appeared when a prominence got caught in between magnetic fields.

Space weather is not just pretty

Scientists don’t only
look to the sun to see these beautiful structures. With solar events
comes space weather, which can be damaging to our planet.

Any of
these big solar events can release waves of energy that hurtle from the
sun into space. If they are pointed at the Earth, these so-called solar storms could be damaging to power grids and other infrastructure if not managed properly, scientists previously told Insider.

This article was originally published by Business Insider.

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“Alien bases” may be hiding off the coast of Alaska, researchers say

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An organization of civilian volunteers dedicated to the study of
unidentified flying objects (UFOs) has issued a statement based on
decades of studying eyewitness reports. According to Mutual UFO Network,
“alien bases” may be hiding off the coast of Alaska, reports the-sun.com.

Researchers
say the deep waters in this region may hold something surprising. After
analyzing reports from the ship’s crew from 1945, they hypothesized
that alien objects could be lurking underwater, off the coast of the
state.

Alleged sightings of alien spacecraft nearly 80 years ago
have become a key point in research. Members of the organization believe
that UFOs move over water and may have “bases.”

Researchers
allege crew members on a U.S. Army transporter ship sailing past Island
Adak saw a massive UFO sized 150 to 200 feet emerge from the water.
Although these reports are nowhere to be found, UFO enthusiasts believe
the unidentified flying vehicles likely were used to commute to
different supposed alien bases hiding in the deep waters.

As
the “secret reports” of the sailors aren’t available, investigators
have taken it upon themselves to unravel the mystery surrounding the
unidentified flying objects and they believe the ocean has alien bases
that humans aren’t aware of.

Enthusiasts claim that UFOs may be
using “underwater networks” or wormholes as superhighways to travel
between points in the universe. UFO researcher Johnny Enoch added that
such objects could serve as a vehicle for aliens.

There are also
theories that other places on Earth could serve as bases for alien life.
A mountain in Seoul, South Korea is believed to be hiding a UFO,
according to Dr. Steven Greer.

An episode of the series “The
Alaska Triangle” features satellite imagery that claims to show one of
the “alien bases” in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

Meanwhile,
another researcher featured in the program showed markings from the sea
bed that she claimed could have been roadways for aliens.

While
the mysteries of the ocean remain unsolved, researchers continue their
search, trying to unravel the mystery of what may be hiding in the
depths of the waters off the coast of Alaska.

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Enormous City-Size Comet Racing Towards Earth Grows ‘Devil Horns’ After Massive Eruption

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A volcanic comet the size of a mid-sized US city has
violently exploded for the second time in four months as it continues
racing toward the earth. And following the massive eruption, the cloud
of ice and gas sprouted what looked like a pair of gigantic devil horns.

The city-sized comet, named 12P/Pons-Brooks, is a cryovolcanic — or
cold volcano — comet. It has a solid nucleus, with an estimated diameter
of 18.6 miles, and is filled with a mix of ice, dust and gas known as
cryomagma. The nucleus is surrounded by a fuzzy cloud of gas called a
coma, which leaks out of the comet’s interior.

When solar radiation heats the comet’s insides, the pressure builds up
and the comet violently explodes, ejaculating its ice-cold innards into
space through seeping cracks in the nucleus’s shell.

Live Science report:
On Oct. 5, astronomers detected a large outburst from 12P, after the
comet became dozens of times brighter due to the extra light reflecting
from its expanded coma, according to the British Astronomical Association (BAA), which has been closely monitoring the comet 

Over the next few days, the comet’s coma expanded further and developed its “peculiar horns,” Spaceweather.com
reported. Some experts joked that the irregular shape of the coma also
makes the comet look like a science fiction spaceship, such as the
Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.

The unusual shape of the comet’s coma is likely due to an irregularity in the shape of 12P’s nucleus, Richard Miles, a BAA astronomer, told Live Science after the comet’s previous eruption.
The outflowing gas is likely being partially obstructed by a notch
sticking out on the nucleus, Miles said. As the gas continues to expand
away from the comet, the irregularity in the coma’s shape becomes more
defined and noticeable, he added.

12P is currently hurtling toward the inner solar system, where it
will be slingshotted around the sun on its highly elliptical 71-year
orbit around our home star — similar to the green comet Nishimura, which
pulled off a near-identical maneuver on Sept. 17

12P will reach its closest point to Earth on April 21, 2024, when it
may become visible to the naked eye before being catapulted back toward
the outer solar system. It will not return until 2095.

This is the second time 12P has sprouted its horns this year. On July
20, astronomers witnessed the comet blow its top for the first time in
69 years (mainly due to its outbursts being less frequent and harder to
spot during the rest of its orbit). On that occasion, 12P’s coma grew to
around 143,000 miles (230,000 km), which is around 7,000 times wider
than the comet’s nucleus.

It is unclear how large the coma grew during the most recent
eruption, but there are signs the outburst was “twice as intense” as the
previous one, the BAA noted. By now, the coma has likely shrunk back to
near its normal size.

As 12P continues to race toward the sun, there is a high probability
that we will witness several more major eruptions. It is possible that
those eruptions will be even bigger than the most recent one as the
comet soaks up more solar radiation, according to Spaceweather.com.

But 12P is not the only volcanic comet that astronomers are currently
monitoring: 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann (29P) — the most volatile volcanic
comet in the solar system — has also had several noticeable eruptions
in the last year.

In December 2022, 29P experienced its largest eruption in around 12 years, which sprayed around 1 million tons of cryomagma into space. And in April this year, for the first time ever, scientists accurately predicted one of 29P’s eruptions before it actually happened, thanks to a slight increase in the comet’s brightness in the lead-up to the icy explosion.

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