                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                               2022 January 30

                        A Solar Prominence from SOHO
                Image Credit: NASA, ESA, SOHO-EIT Consortium

   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.

                      Tomorrow's picture: stellar icons
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

