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Credit & Copyright: Hawk Wolinski
Explanation:
What's that on the Sun?
Although it may look like a flowing version of the
Eiffel Tower,
it is a
solar prominence that is actually much bigger -- about the
height of Jupiter.
The huge prominence
emerged about ten days ago, hovered over the
Sun's surface for about two days,
and then erupted -- throwing a
coronal mass ejection (CME) into the Solar System.
The featured video,
captured from the astrophotographer's backyard in
Hendersonville,
Tennessee,
USA, shows an hour time-lapse played both forwards and backwards.
That CME did not impact the Earth, but our Sun had
unleashed
other recent CMEs that not only triggered
Earthly auroras, but puffed out the
Earth's atmosphere enough to
cause just-launched
Starlink satellites to
fall back.
Activity on the Sun, including
sunspots,
prominences, CMEs and
flares, continues to increase as the
Sun evolves away from a deep
minimum in its 11-year
magnetic cycle.
Birthday Surprise:
What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Sun - solar prominence
Publications with words: Sun - solar prominence
See also:
- APOD: 2024 September 2 Á A Triangular Prominence Hovers Over the Sun
- APOD: 2024 August 18 Á A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO
- APOD: 2024 August 4 Á Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
- APOD: 2024 July 28 Á Sun Dance
- Prominences and Filaments on the Active Sun
- APOD: 2024 May 28 Á Solar X Flare as Famous Active Region Returns
- APOD: 2024 May 26 Á A Solar Filament Erupts