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Highly Flare Productive AR Complex - 2012/01/22 Synoptic
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The large, bright region in the upper right is actually a conglomerate of four NOAA active regions, the most active of which being 11401 and 11402. These two regions have been rattling off flare after flare over the past week, recording 17 C-class flares in the 3-day span surrounding this image. AR 11402, the uppermost region with the bright loop, also produced an M8.7 flare on the 23rd with an associated coronal mass ejection (CME) directed straight at Earth. The CME produced a G1-class geomagnetic storm that delighted aurora watchers around the Arctic Circle. These XRT images (mouse over for alternate filter) were captured during one of XRT's twice-daily full-disk, "synoptic" observations. Each is a composite of a long and short exposure image, enabling us to see both bright and faint structures. The two filters produce slightly different images because they're sensitive to material at different, but overlapping, temperatures, with thin beryllium being more sensitive to higher temperature material. Keywords: Full Disk, Flare Filters: Al_mesh, Be_thin |
(Prepared by Patrick McCauley)
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