Strong Proton Storm on the Sun with a Mercury Fly-by

A solar magnetic active region containing the largest sunspot group of the last 10 years unleashed a large (X1.2) flare when it was facing right towards Earth. The flare was associated with a bright coronal mass ejection that emerges from the lower right (Jan. 7-8, 2014). A fast moving cloud of high-energy particles produced in the flare and at the CME front began striking the SOHO spacecraft imagers, creating the &quot;snow&quot; effect that went on for more than a day. SOHO is a million miles sunwards of Earth, and outside the earth's protective magnetosphere. In these coronagraph images the Sun is represented by the white circle and is blocked by an occulting disk, so we can observe fainter structures in the Sun's corona. Venus (upper left) enters the field of view during the video clip, while Mercury (lower left) is just about to leave the file of view. Credit: NASA/GSFC/SOHO <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>