The Sun ejected a prominence about 500,000 kilometers long — scientists say Earth faces no threat

The Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of IKI RAN reported the eruption of a giant prominence stretching about 500,000 kilometers. The plasma is moving mostly away from Earth; Mars may lie in its path. At the same time, on October 31 scientists still expect a G1–G2 level magnetic storm associated with a coronal hole, not with this eruption.

Aziz KarimovFirst published on tafs uz 29 October 2026 at 22:172 min read

The key facts

A prominence about 500,000 kilometers long was captured by several space telescopes at once.
According to IKI RAN, the plasma cloud is flying sideways away from Earth; of the nearby planets, only Mars may be in its path.
The G1–G2 level magnetic storm expected on October 31 is linked to a solar wind stream from a coronal hole, not to this eruption.

A major plasma eruption on the Sun

A giant prominence roughly 500,000 kilometers long erupted on the Sun. The cloud of superheated plasma broke away from the star, and the event was simultaneously captured by several space telescopes. This was reported by the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Space Research Institute (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as reported by Life.ru. For scale: the length of the plasma formation is more than ten times the length of Earth's equator.

Earth faces no serious threat

According to preliminary estimates by scientists, no serious impact of the eruption on the planet's magnetic field is expected. «In this case, the prominence is flying mostly sideways. Of the nearby planets, only Mars appears to be in its path,» the laboratory clarified. Prominences are accumulations of solar plasma held above the star's surface by magnetic fields; when the magnetic structure loses stability, the material can be ejected into space.

The October 31 magnetic storm is linked to a different phenomenon

The absence of a direct threat from the prominence does not mean calm geomagnetic conditions: IKI RAN specialists previously warned of a possible G1–G2 level magnetic storm on October 31. Its cause will be a stream of solar wind from a coronal hole, not today's plasma eruption. According to preliminary calculations, the disturbances will last about 12–15 hours, mainly overnight into Saturday and in the first half of the day; in the first hours of the storm, scientists say auroras are possible.