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Credit & Copyright: Solar Dynamics Observatory,
SVS,
GSFC,
NASA;
Music: Thunderbolt by
Lars Leonhard
Explanation:
Does it rain on the Sun?
Yes, although what falls is not water but extremely hot plasma.
An example
occurred
in mid-July 2012 after an eruption on the Sun that produced both a
Coronal Mass Ejection
and a moderate solar flare.
What was more unusual, however, was what happened next.
Plasma in the nearby
solar corona was imaged cooling and falling back, a phenomenon
known as
coronal rain.
Because they are electrically charged,
electrons,
protons,
and
ions in the rain were
gracefully channeled along existing
magnetic loops near the Sun's surface,
making the scene appear as a surreal three-dimensional sourceless waterfall.
The resulting
surprisingly-serene spectacle is shown in
ultraviolet light
and highlights matter glowing at a temperature of about 50,000
Kelvin.
Each second in the
above time lapse video
takes about 6 minutes in real time,
so that the entire
coronal rain sequence
lasted about 10 hours.
Ask Me Anything:
APOD Editor to
answer questions on reddit at 11 am EST this Thursday
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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 - prominence
Publications with words: Sun - prominence
See also:
- APOD: 2024 February 19 Á Looking Sideways from the Parker Solar Probe
- Circling the Sun
- APOD: 2023 December 11 Á Solar Minimum versus Solar Maximum
- APOD: 2023 November 19 Á Space Station, Solar Prominences, Sun
- APOD: 2023 October 25 Á Gone in 60 Seconds: A Green Flash Sunset
- Circular Sun Halo
- APOD: 2023 August 1 Á Monster Solar Prominence