XRT Picture of the Week (XPOW)

AR12242 is a magnetically complex active region so it is no surprise it produced a beautiful X1.8-flare. This region popped off several smaller events leading up to the X-flare and continued to be active after this event. Many of the flares happened along a thin horizontal thread that can easily be seen in the movie. After the X-flare, a canopy of bright loops seems to form. These loops are probably high above the active region. The brightest part of these loops indicate that magnetic reconnection is still happening several hours after the start of the flare.

Near the end of the movie, it appears that the loops are getting brighter and fuller but it is really just getting quieter. XRT's exposures are increasing because there is less light coming from the active region. Longer exposures capture more light and faint features that were washed out by the glaring flare are now visible.


Keywords: Flare, AR Tracking
Filters: Thin_Be