there was a global eruption on the sun today
That's not a very good description, and it's unfortunate NASA chose that language in their press release. Basically, what they've found is that solar events like flares and coronal mass ejections can result from magnetic activity across the Sun as a whole, instead of being restricted to local areas where the phenomena occur.
Also, it didn't happen today or yesterday. The report was released on December 13, but the observation occurred on August 1.
what does that say about allthe things we know bout the sun
Nothing. It just says that solar flares, CMEs, etc. can be global (on the Sun) events, which actually makes a lot of sense. With STEREO, SOHO and SDO looking at the Sun 24/7, scientists now have the ability to make observations toward this end.
and is that bad for us here if there is a big global eruption?
No. Nothing about this discovery suggests that solar flares and coronal mass ejections are any bigger or more dangerous than before. It's simply an interesting discovery about how these events happen, and ultimately it might aid in prediction and make us even less vulnerable to electromagnetic storms.
bryan (guest) 15 Dec 2010 03:51
