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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Photo: Giant "Tornadoes" Seen Erupting From the Sun


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A solar storm on the sun's surface was shown to twist, like a tornado does on Earth, in images from NASA's STEREO satellite taken on April 9, 2008.

This twisting also occurs in solar jets, which produce tornado-like events close to the sun's poles, new satellite data has found.

Advanced viewing technologies have enabled scientists to study these phenomena in unprecedented clarity.

Image courtesy NASA