Large Eruptive Prominence Movie from SDO
Sometimes part of the Sun can just explode into space.
These explosions might occur as
powerful solar flares,
coronal mass ejections, or comparatively tame
eruptive solar prominences.
Pictured above is one of the
largest solar prominence eruptions yet observed,
one associated with a
subsequent coronal mass ejection.
The prominence erupted last month and
was recorded by several Sun-sensing instruments, including the recently launched
Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).
The above time lapse sequence was captured by SDO and occurred over a few hours.
In recent months, our Sun has becoming increasingly active, following a few years of an
unusually dormant
solar minimum.
Over the next few years our Sun is
expected
to reach
solar maximum and exhibit a dramatic increase in
sunspots and all types of
solar explosions.