Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2026 June 24
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                    SDO Observes a Coronal Mass Ejection
   Video Credit: [2]NASA, [3]SDO, [4]AIA; Processing: [5]Richard Petarius
                                III ([6]MTU)
        Text: [7]Keighley Rockcliffe ([8]NASA [9]GSFC, [10]UMBC CSST,
                               [11]CRESST II)

   Explanation: Why does the Sun throw stuff at us? The Sun’s surface is a
   churning soup of energetic electrons and [12]ions called [13]plasma.
   The motion of those charged particles creates [14]magnetic field loops
   that are [15]larger than the Earth. These loops twist, turn, and
   [16]trap plasma. The featured time-lapse, taken over 2 hours on April
   24th, 2026 by the [17]Solar Dynamics Observatory, shows what happens
   when those magnetic fields become too stressed: they snap and expel
   billions of tons (trillions of kilograms) of plasma into space at
   millions of miles (or kilometers) per hour in what is called a
   [18]coronal mass ejection (CME). The Sun releases a few CMEs each day
   when it is at [19]the peak of its activity cycle, which passed in 2025.
   Some of these eruptions hit Earth and can disrupt power grids, disable
   satellites, and endanger astronauts, which is why [20]space weather
   monitoring is so important.

                  Tomorrow's picture: anticrepuscular rays
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([35]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [36]Specific rights apply.
            [37]NASA Web Privacy, [38]Accessibility, [39]Notices;
                A service of: [40]ASD at [41]NASA / [42]GSFC,
                         [43]NASA Science Activation
                           & [44]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://www.nasa.gov/
   3. https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/
   4. https://aia.lmsal.com/
   5. https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-petarius-iii/
   6. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/
   7. https://kerockcliffe.com/
   8. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/keighley.e.rockcliffe
   9. https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/
  10. https://csst.umbc.edu/directory/
  11. https://cresst2.umd.edu/
  12. https://www.khanacademy.org/science/hs-chemistry/x2613d8165d88df5e:atoms-isotopes-and-ions/x2613d8165d88df5e:ions/a/ions?referrer=share_link
  13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3T2ldsdtMg
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250730.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140304.html
  16. https://imgur.com/Kdl1ozo
  17. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sdo/
  18. https://www.spaceweather.gov/phenomena/coronal-mass-ejections
  19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E65T2AV-EjM
  20. https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/weather-atmosphere/space-weather
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260623.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  27. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  30. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260624
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260625.html
  32. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/
  33. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/
  34. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1073087
  35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  40. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/astrophysics/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  43. https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/
  44. http://www.mtu.edu/