Filament Blowout (April 27, 2012)

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A long filament erupted into space as seen by STEREO's Ahead spacecraft (Apr. 22, 2012). This shows a combination of the Sun taken in extreme UV light superimposed on the Sun's corona (seen in green). Filaments are elongated clouds of cooler gases suspended above the Sun by magnetic forces. They are often unstable and erupt. The video covers 11 hours of activity.

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.