Back on February 7-8th, a solar storm created tornado-like eruptions of super-hot plasma on the surface of the sun. I say tornado-like because these aren't quite the same tornadoes that we are used to. Tornadoes here on Earth are wind-driven phenomena, whereas the plasma tornadoes on the sun are shaped by it's powerful magnetic field.
Here is the video if you want to see the tornadoes moving. In the HD video, you will see some cooler plasma material (the darker spots) on a bright and eerie yellow background (this is caused by the video being recorded in extreme ultraviolet light). The SDO spacecraft was launched on February 11, 2010 to help astronomers better understand how changes in the Sun's weather cycles affects the weather here on Earth.
Sources: NASA, space.com
Here is the video if you want to see the tornadoes moving. In the HD video, you will see some cooler plasma material (the darker spots) on a bright and eerie yellow background (this is caused by the video being recorded in extreme ultraviolet light). The SDO spacecraft was launched on February 11, 2010 to help astronomers better understand how changes in the Sun's weather cycles affects the weather here on Earth.
Sources: NASA, space.com
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