Heliophysics Fleet Captures May 1, 2013 Prominence Eruption – NASA

Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). An active region just around the East limb (left edge) of the sun erupted with a huge cloud of solar material — a heated, charged gas called plasma.

With advance warning, many space assets can be put into safe mode and protect themselves from the effects  particle radiation from Corona Mass Ejections.