Explanation: What's that coming over the edge of the Sun? What might appear at first glance to be some sort of Sun monster is actually a solar prominence. The above prominence, captured by the Sun-orbiting SOHO satellite earlier this year during an early stage of its eruption, rapidly became one of the largest ever on record. Even as pictured, the prominence is huge -- the Earth would easily fit inside. A solar prominence is a thin cloud of solar gas held just above the surface by the Sun's magnetic field. A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a month, while an eruptive prominence like the one developing above may erupt within hours into a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), expelling hot gas into the Solar System. Although very hot, prominences typically appear dark when viewed against the Sun, since they are slightly cooler than the surface. As our Sun evolves toward Solar maximum over the next three years, more large eruptive prominences are expected.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
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& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Sun - solar prominence - SOHO - eruptive prominence
Publications with words: Sun - solar prominence - SOHO - eruptive 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