Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2015 January 25
A Twisted Solar Eruptive Prominence
Video Credit: SOHO Consortium, EIT, ESA, NASA
Explanation: Ten
Earths could easily fit in the "claw" of this seemingly solar monster. The monster, actually a huge eruptive prominence, is seen moving out from our
Sun in this condensed half-hour time-lapse sequence.
This large prominence, though, is significant not only for its size, but its shape. The twisted figure eight shape indicates that a complex
magnetic field threads through the emerging
solar particles.
Differential rotation of gas just inside the surface of the Sun might help account for the surface explosion.
The five frame sequence was taken in early 2000 by the Sun-orbiting
SOHO satellite. Although
large prominences and energetic
Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are relatively rare, they are again occurring more frequently now that we are near the
Solar Maximum, a time of peak sunspot and
solar activity in the eleven-year
solar cycle.
Tomorrow's picture: snow monster sky
