Zipping and zapping (January 1, 2010)

Hi-res TIF image (1.3M)

Quicktime Movie: Large ( 17M), Medium (2.2M), Small (1.1M)
MPEG Movie (5.3M)

With an active region in profile just at the Sun's edge, the STEREO (Ahead) spacecraft could see it thrust out about a dozen narrow streams of particles (Dec. 26, 2009). The still image shows the largest of these. The kind of surging shows the dynamic nature of the interplay of magnetic field and ionized gas that occurs in a magnetically active region. With an image being taken every 10 minutes in extreme UV light, a movie of these frames captures the solar dynamism associated with active regions.

SOHO began its Weekly Pick some time after sending a weekly image or video clip to the American Museum of Natural History (Rose Center) in New York City. There, the SOHO Weekly Pick is displayed with some annotations on a large plasma display.

If your institution would also like to receive the same Weekly Pick from us for display (usually in Photoshop or QuickTime format), please send your inquiry to steele.hill@gsfc.nasa.gov.