Somersaulting CME (June 4, 2011)

Hi-res TIF image (2.0M)

Movies: MOV (5.7M), MOV (small) (626K), M4V (474K), MP4 (856K), MPEG (1.0M)

On May 30, 2011, the STEREO Behind spacecraft caught a prominence in the process of leaping from one part of the Sun to another. In this movie, combining images from the EUVI and COR1 telescopes, the prominence is first seen erupting by EUVI in images taken in the Helium II emission line at 304 Angstroms. At higher elevations, it is seen in white light by the COR1 telescope. In the COR1 images, the prominence pauses. Some of the prominence material drains back down, but most of it is deflected to the north, and ends up raining down on a completely different part of the Sun, far from where it started. This is very unusual behavior for an erupting prominence, and this event is sure to be carefully studied by scientists.

Some out-of-focus dust particles just in front of the COR1 telescope are briefly visible toward the end of the movie.

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.