Escape From The Sun
Explanation:
Twisted
magnetic fields arching from
the solar surface can
trap ionized gas, suspending it in huge looping structures.
These majestic plasma arches
are seen as prominences above the solar limb.
On September 14, this dramatic and detailed
image was recorded by the EIT experiment on board
the space-based SOHO observatory
in the light emitted by
ionized Helium.
It shows hot plasma escaping into space as a fiery prominence breaks
free from
magnetic confinement a hundred thousand miles above the Sun.
These awesome events
bear watching as they
can affect communications and power systems
ninety three million miles away on
Planet Earth.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
