images

The Sun seen in ultraviolet by Soho. Oct 25 2002.

by

Nasa/ESA/Soho/Eit/Novapix

Reference

a-sol02-01012

Date

2006-11-11

Prominences are huge clouds of relatively cool, dense plasma suspended in the Sun's hot, tenuous corona. Magnetic fields built up enormous forces that propelled particles out beyond the Sun's surface. Emission in this spectral line shows the upper chromosphere at a temperature of about 60,000 degrees K. For a sense of scale, the prominence seems to extend at least 40 Earths.