Up Close and Personal With a Monster Solar Eruption

Recently, a gargantuan explosion on the Sun -- perhaps approaching the power of a billion hydrogen bombs -- propelled many tens of billions of tons of particles out into space at 1.5 million miles per hour. As dramatic as this solar eruption may sound, it is not terribly unusual. It's called a coronal mass ejection, and it is a normal aspect of the sun's activity. But one thing about this particular CME, which occurred on May 9, does stand out: It was the first ever observed by a new NASA s