Earth Weather / Space Weather

The Tree of Avatar

Posted by: Susie77, 20:27 GMT le 29 avril 2010

From Space Weather

THE TREE OF AVATAR: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is doing more than just taking crisp pictures of the sun. It is revealing our star as a place of intense and sometimes even alien beauty. In today's image, we see "The Tree of Avatar."

Movie

The trunk of the tree is a twisted, gnarly pillar of magnetism containing hundreds of millions of tons of relatively cool plasma. The canopy is a cloud of million-degree gas. As solar physicists watched this tree on April 19th, it exploded, producing one of the biggest eruptions in years.

The colors in the movie trace different temperatures. Reds are relatively cool (60,000 K - 80,000 K); blues and greens are hot (1,000,000 K - 2,200,000 K). The tree's cool trunk rapidly heats up as it rises into the blast, and the canopy cools down as it falls in pieces back to the sun. Go ahead and watch the movie again. Once is not enough!

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1. shoreacres 20:39 GMT le 30 avril 2010
Susie, I watched this last night with my mouth hanging open and then forgot to leave a post. I don't understand a bit of it, but it is beautiful. I saw your post at Patraps. I'll be posting a little something about the way people NOT in La can help out - concretely - but I've got to get some more information. It's just awful. Nothing else to say. Member Since: 4 octobre 2004 Posts: 195 Comments: 14798

2. hunu 15:01 GMT le 01 mai 2010
Don't forget to get your best guesses in for Otherbug's contests before the deadline tomorrow! Details and a new clue are on hunu's blog - and here's a pic of the prizes!

3. Susie77 02:39 GMT le 02 mai 2010
Yeah, wetlands are about to vanish even sooner than expected. :(:( Linda, pls. let me know. Some of us at the WBS are working on getting up a group to go down and volunteer on wildlife clean-up or whatever else is needed. Member Since: 14 avril 2002 Posts: 560 Comments: 516

4. shoreacres 02:54 GMT le 02 mai 2010
Susie, Here's the basic idea I'm working with here. We've got some of the best rehabbers in the world - in fact the team has been in LA working an inland spill from a pipeline since April 4th (Delta National Wildlife Refuge). Our team hasn't been called yet, but if they aren't formally requested they're still going. The logistical problem they face is caring for the birds and animals they have to leave. What we're trying to do is put together a LOCAL volunteer crew to take over responsibilities here while they go there. For example, with my flexible schedule, I can transport birds and animals. Recovering creatures who need only routine care prior to release can be kept in food and water by people like me. There are rehabbers who specialize in rabbits, raccoons, etc. who can stay and keep an eye on things and work with local volunteers. The licensed folks with the training in oil remediation need to get over there, but they can't just walk away from the animals here. So we're working on it. Member Since: 4 octobre 2004 Posts: 195 Comments: 14798

5. Susie77 12:57 GMT le 02 mai 2010
Linda, thanks. If you see any needs that out-of-staters can provide (food, supplies, etc.) please let me know. Member Since: 14 avril 2002 Posts: 560 Comments: 516

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