Sliding Plasma and a CME (February 5, 2010)

Hi-res TIF image (1.5M)

Quicktime Movie: Large ( 64M), Small (5.6M)
MPEG Movie (8.7M)

The STEREO (Behind) spacecraft could see streams of plasma sliding along magnetic field lines above a sputtering active region (Jan. 26-29, 2010). The dynamic streams were just over the Sun's edge and readily spotted as the Sun rotated them more into view. Then it gets more interesting. About mid-way through the clip, a small coronal mass ejection (CME) shoots out and into space at about a million miles per hour, carrying some magnetic field with it. Most CMEs are more bulbous and wide: this one is quite narrow and contained. Nonetheless, our solar scientists agree that its speed and characteristics suggest that it was indeed a non-typical CME.

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.