Posted on 01/30/2022 4:00:06 PM PST by MtnClimber
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.
Explanation: How can gas float above the Sun? Twisted magnetic fields arching from the solar surface can trap ionized gas, suspending it in huge looping structures. These majestic plasma arches are seen as prominences above the solar limb. In 1999, this dramatic and detailed image was recorded by the Extreme ultraviolet Image Telescope (EIT) on board the space-based SOHO observatory in the light emitted by ionized Helium. It shows hot plasma escaping into space as a fiery prominence breaks free from magnetic confinement a hundred thousand kilometers above the Sun. These awesome events bear watching as they can affect communications and power systems over 100 million kilometers away on planet Earth. In late 2020 our Sun passed the solar minimum of its 11-year cycle and is now showing increased surface activity.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
The image is not displaying for me. Tried again and preview did not display either. Hoping it is just a bad internet connection.
OK, now it is displaying. I am glad I did not keep reposting it!
Using your preferred search engine search “nasa apod” and it will come up.
A beautiful pic!
Wow!
Very cool! It looks like the sun has a handle..
Doesn’t work for me...get the https with redline...I’m using Brave and been having this problem for awhile
What a great picture!
One thing I have always lusted after was a telescope dedicated to hydrogen-alpha light. It allows only those wavelengths of light to come through, similar to what is shown here. They are available to amateur astronomers, but are extremely expensive. I’ve only looked through one, and a small one at that.
8. Not a handle, gas. You’re gonna need one big TUMS!
It sounds like another 8 years of increased solar activity coming around the bend.
Any of those flames are bigger then the earth.
We are but a gnat to a roaring fireplace.
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