PICK OF THE WEEK
Pick of The Week
Casting a Net (April 6, 2005)
Hi-res TIF image (1.2M)
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The EIT 304 Angstrom instrument is SOHO's best at capturing
prominence images, this image from April 7, 2005 has created its own peculiar
twist. Shaped almost like a shrimp net that has partially opened to scoop up
shrimp, the twisting prominence is far from the usual bulbous and rounded
prominence we are used to observing. Prominences are huge clouds of relatively
cool dense plasma suspended in the Sun's hot, thin corona. At times, they can
erupt, escaping the Sun's atmosphere. Emission in this spectral line of EIT 304
shows the upper chromosphere at a temperature of about 60,000 degrees K.
Prominences are a special treat for amateur solar observers with telescopes with
Hydrogen-Alpha filters who patiently observe the Sun, while hoping to see a
prominence or two. (If any amateurs out there caught this particular prominence, I would enjoy seeing what it looked like in H-Alpha. Send your image to steele.hill[AT]gsfc.nasa.gov.) Please visit our Newsroom for press releases and media coverage.
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. |
