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Credit & Copyright: Oliver Hardy
Explanation:
Yesterday, the Sun exhibited one of the longest filaments ever recorded.
It may still be there today.
Visible as the dark streak just below the center in the featured image,
the enormous filament extended across the face of the Sun a distance
even longer than the Sun's radius -- over 700,000 kilometers.
A filament is actually
hot gas held aloft
by the Sun's magnetic field, so that viewed from the side it would appear as a
raised prominence.
The featured image shows the filament in
light emitted by hydrogen and therefore highlights the
Sun's chromosphere.
Sun-following telescopes including NASA's
Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
are tracking
this unusual feature, with SDO yesterday recording a
spiraling magnetic field engulfing
it.
Since
filaments
typically last only from hours to days, parts of this one may
collapse or
erupt at any time, either
returning hot plasma back to the Sun or
expelling it into the Solar System.
Is the filament still there?
You can check by clicking on
SDO's current solar image.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Sun - filament - magnetic field
Publications with words: Sun - filament - magnetic field
See also: