Parading Prominences (September 11, 2009)

Hi-res TIF image (3.5M)

Quicktime Movie: Hi-res ( 34M), Large (5.4M)
Small (293K)
MPEG Movie: Large (3.5M)

The STEREO Ahead spacecraft caught two eruptive prominences breaking away from the Sun (Sept. 5, 2009) within a few hours of each other. Prominences are clouds of cooler gases suspended above the Sun by unstable magnetic forces. In the still image and video clip we are observing the Sun in extreme UV at the Wavelength of 304 Angstroms. Most coronal mass ejections (CME's) have eruptive prominences associated with them, but not every prominence, even ones as spectacular as these, are associated with CME's.

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.