Astronomy Picture of the Day 03-30-04

NASA ^ | 03-30-04 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

[petuniasevan]

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.

2004 March 30

A Prominent Solar Prominence from SOHO
Credit: SOHO - EIT Consortium, ESA, NASA

Explanation: One of the most spectacular solar sights is a prominence. A solar prominence is a cloud of solar gas held above the Sun's surface by the Sun's magnetic field. Last month, NASA's Sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft imaged an impressively large prominence hovering over the surface, pictured above. The Earth would easily fit under the hovering curtain of hot gas. A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a month, and may erupt in a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) expelling hot gas into the Solar System. Although somehow related to the Sun's changing magnetic field, the energy mechanism that creates and sustains a Solar prominence is still a topic of research.

[petuniasevan]

For all you heliophiles out there in Freeperland!
You might remember this animated image from the February 23, 2003 APOD:

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Supernova remnant reveals magnesium in abundance
CHANDRA X-RAY CENTER NEWS RELEASE
Posted: March 28, 2004

Credit: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park et al.
 

The Chandra image of N49B (left), the remains of an exploded star, shows a cloud of multimillion degree gas that has been expanding for about 10,000 years. A specially processed version of this image (right) reveals unexpectedly large concentrations of the element magnesium (blue-green).

Magnesium, created deep inside the star and ejected in the supernova explosion, is usually associated with correspondingly high concentrations of oxygen. However, the Chandra data indicate that the amount of oxygen in N49B is not exceptional. This poses a puzzle as to how the excess magnesium was created, or, alternatively, how the excess oxygen has escaped detection.

The amount of magnesium in N49B is estimated to be about equal to the total mass of the Sun. Since the Sun contains only about 0.1% of magnesium by mass, the total mass of magnesium N49B is about a thousand times that in the Sun and its planets.

Magnesium, the eighth most abundant material in the Earth's crust, is a mineral needed by every cell of our bodies. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, and bones strong. It is also involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. Fortunately for us, and thanks to stars such as the one that produced N49B, there is an abundant supply of magnesium in the Universe.

[petuniasevan]

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[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

BTTT

[foolish-one]

Cool (or hot!). Thanks.

[Soaring Feather]

Thank You.

[redhead]

Thanking you (and bumping, too!)