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Gigantic Solar Tornado Is 5 Times the Size of Earth
This enormous tornado erupting from the surface of the sun is big enough to swallow the Earth. In fact, it could swallow five Earths.
Discovered using NASAs Solar Dynamic Observatory satellite, this colossal twisting mass is made up of superheated gas at a temperature of between 90,000 and 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit.
Over the course of three hours, this behemoth reached up from the suns surface to a height of 125,000 miles, or roughly half the distance between the Earth and the moon. The hot gases were whipped up to nearly 186,000 miles per hour. In comparison, the wind speed of terrestrial tornadoes generally reaches a paltry 100 miles per hour.
Scientists have previously seen smaller solar tornadoes with other sun-observing satellites but this one spotted in September 2011 is thought to be the first one ever filmed (left). Since then, researchers have seen at least one more solar tornado, an Earth-sized twister seen in the video below.
Read more here: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/gigantic-solar-tornado/?
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Fascinating.........
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Gigantic Solar Tornado Is 5 Times the Size of Earth (Original Post)
MindMover
Mar 2012
OP
It could be his fault if he does not initiate some educational/preventative.....
MindMover
Mar 2012
#5
Ilsa
(61,695 posts)1. Is this a flare we need to be
concerned about?
MindMover
(5,016 posts)2. Not yet.....but
Ian David
(69,059 posts)3. It's all Obama's fault. n/t
MindMover
(5,016 posts)5. It could be his fault if he does not initiate some educational/preventative.....
Last edited Thu Mar 29, 2012, 12:26 AM - Edit history (1)
measures to protect USA communication/electrical abilities in the relative political near future.....given that politicians today work on 1-4 yr time periods to get something done for the good of the people.....
Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)4. Well, one bright side to that type of tornado...
If it was able to hit you, you wouldn't live long enough to see the rest of the damage it would do if it was on Earth.
That's not much of a bright side, though, is it? I hate tornadoes and am in awe of their power at the same time. Such destruction and devastation is so horrible though. So, eventually terror and fear of tornadoes wins with me every single time.
That solar tornado sounds like an Ah-nold Schwarze-tornado.
MindMover
(5,016 posts)6. It is definitely a tornado on super duper steroids.....
kysrsoze
(6,021 posts)7. Wow, that video was extremely creepy
That was mind-blowing.