Proton shower
4 of 7 from A solar storm reaches Earth (images)
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NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center uses the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft to gather data on solar wind and the high-energy particles given off during a coronal mass ejection from the Sun's atmosphere. The "snow" on this image shows how the burst of protons given off from the coronal mass ejection are blocking out the onboard sensors and camera equipment.
January 24, 2012 8:20 AM PST
Photo by: NOAA
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