PICK OF THE WEEK
Pick of The Week
Sun-devil (October 21, 2004)
Hi-res TIF image (2.9M).
Movies:
MPEG: large (767K), small (256K)
QT: large (699K), small (242K),
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A small, rotating prominence seemed to be spinning like a dust-devil on
16 October 2004. (A dust devil is a small swirling dust storm that is
often spotted in the desert and arid areas of the U.S.) A prominence
like this one represents cooler plasma rising above the surface of the
Sun and being controlled by any number of competing magnetic field
lines. After what appears to be a number of turns over just a few
hours, this spinner begins to rise higher above the surface. Then
another and apparently stronger field line pulls it sharply to the
right and guides the material back into the Sun. Remember, in the solar
atmosphere,magnetism rules!
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. |
