"Unveiling the Spectacular Solar Storm: Rare Images Capture Giant Plasma Eruption"

On April 17, 2021, a widespread solar storm hurled high-speed protons and electrons at velocities nearing the speed of light, striking several spacecraft across the inner solar system. This event, observed by spacecraft at five different locations, revealed that different types of potentially dangerous solar energetic particles (SEPs) can be blasted into space by different solar phenomena and in different directions. Scientists are eager to understand the origins and acceleration of these particles to better protect technology and humans in space. The event also demonstrated the importance of multiple spacecraft perspectives in untangling the complexity of solar events, paving the way for future NASA heliophysics missions to study widespread phenomena and the acceleration of particles into the solar system.