Prominence Lift-Off (June 4, 2010)

Hi-res TIF image (1.5M)

Quicktime Movie: Large (6.1M), Small (1.2M)
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STEREO (Ahead) kept a steady eye on a narrow portion of a solar prominence that rose up, wavered, and finally broke away from the Sun (May 28-30, 2010). It appeared that the trailing portion of the prominence still remained behind. With the spacecraft's viewing angle at edge on, the prominence looks somewhat like a long thin ribbon. Note that the part that erupted brightened (=heated in this case) as it went up. Prominences are cooler clouds of gas suspended above the solar surface by magnetic forces. They frequently become unstable and break away.

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.