On the night of May 12-13, a giant filament of plasma more than 1 million kilometers long “shot” from the surface of the Sun into space. Such a distance is twice the distance between the Earth and the Moon! The phenomenon, dubbed the “bird wing” for its aesthetic resemblance, erupted around 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT), ejecting a powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) into space.
“This is the longest filament of plasma we’ve seen in years!” – reported astro-enthusiast Jure Atanackov. The dark plasma ribbon, held in place by the Sun’s magnetic fields, hovered above the surface for several days until it destabilized. The filaments, cooler and denser than the surrounding atmosphere of the star, resemble a spider’s web on a bright disk. Their eruptions are often accompanied by CMEs – powerful emissions of charged particles that can affect the planets’ magnetosphere.
Not sure what to call this eruption, maybe the "bird-wing" or "angel-wing" event? Either way, it is truly something to witness! Look at how large the blast is off the Sun's northern hemisphere. I could watch this animation loop for hours! pic.twitter.com/QZjcDPnFyE
— Vincent Ledvina (@Vincent_Ledvina) May 13, 2025
Analysis from NASA suggested that Earth was lucky to avoid a direct hit. “If such a CME were aimed at us, it would trigger a G4 or even G5 level geomagnetic storm. But the stream will pass by, remaining only a spectacular show for telescopes,” Atanakov explained.But the stream will pass by, remaining only a spectacular show for telescopes,” Atanackov explained.
WOW! There is an absolutely enormous filament erupting right now! It dwarfs all the filament eruptions we have seen recently. pic.twitter.com/6b92tP2W2K
— Jure Atanackov (@JAtanackov) May 13, 2025
Such storms create incredible auroras on the one hand, and can disrupt satellites and power grids on the other. Scientists note: such observations help to better understand the mechanisms of solar activity and improve space weather forecasts.
Although the current CME does not threaten the Earth, observatories around the world continue to monitor.
Earlier we covered interesting facts about solar flares.
According to Space
