Spicules: Jets on the Sun . ... Credit Copyright: SST , Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences , LMSAL Explanation: Imagine a pipe as wide as a state and as long as half the Earth. Now imagine that this pipe is filled with hot gas moving 50,000 kilometers per hour. ... Time-sequenced images have recently shown that spicules last about five minutes, starting out as tall tubes of rapidly rising gas but eventually fading as the gas peaks and falls back down to the Sun. ... NASA Official: Jay Norris. ...