Coronal mass ejection


Solar eruption

A long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's corona erupts out into space on Aug. 31.


Traveling at over 900 miles per second, the coronal mass ejection (CME) did not travel directly toward Earth, but it did connect with Earth's magnetosphere, causing auroras to appear in the night sky on Sept. 3.


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Catie Leary ( @catieleary ) is a photo editor at MNN who focuses on travel, nature, science, animals and the arts.