VIEW OF SOLAR EARTHQUAKE AS SEEN BY SOLAR OBSERVATORY, 1998-05-29 (photo)

Scientists have shown for the first time that solar flares produce seismic waves and gigantic seismic quakes in the Sun's interior, as shown here, according to findings reported May 28. Using data from the Michelson Doppler Imager onboard the European Space Agency/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), Stanford and Glasgow scientists have tracked these seismic waves and found that "sun-quakes" closely resemble earthquakes on our planet. The researchers observed a flare-generated solar quake that contained about 40,000 times the energy released in the great earthquake that devastated San Francisco in 1906. The amount of energy released was enough to power the United States for 20 years at its current level of consumption, and was equivalent to an 11.3 magnitude quake on Earth. HB/CLH/