Explanation:
One of the most spectacular solar sights is an erupting prominence.
In 2011, NASA's Sun-orbiting
Solar Dynamic Observatory spacecraft imaged an
impressively large prominence
erupting from the surface.
The dramatic explosion was captured in ultraviolet light in the
featured time lapse video covering 90 minutes, where a
new frame was taken every 24 seconds.
The scale of the prominence is huge -- the entire Earth would easily fit under the flowing
curtain of hot gas.
A solar prominence is channeled and sometimes held above the
Sun's surface by the Sun's
magnetic field.
A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a month and may erupt in a
Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)
expelling hot gas into the
Solar System.
The energy
mechanism that creates a
solar prominence is a continuing topic of
research.
Our Sun is again near
solar
maximum and so very active,
featuring numerous erupting prominences and CMEs, one of which resulted in
picturesqueauroras just over the past week.
