Monster Solar Prominence
The monsters that live on the Sun are not like us.
They are larger than the
Earth
and made of gas hotter than in any
teapot.
They have no eyes, but at times,
many tentacles.
They float.
Usually, they slowly change shape and just
fade back onto the Sun over about a month.
Sometimes, though, they
suddenly explode and
unleash energetic particles
into the Solar System that can attack the Earth.
Pictured is a huge solar prominence imaged almost two weeks ago in the
light of hydrogen.
Captured by a small telescope in
Gilbert,
Arizona,
USA, the
monsteresque
plume of gas was held aloft by the ever-present but
ever-changing magnetic field near the surface of the Sun.
Our active Sun continues to show an
unusually high number of
prominences,
filaments,
sunspots, and
large active regions as
solar maximum approaches in 2025.