Dual views of a prominence

This video clip gives us the dual perspective of a large, eruptive solar prominence as seen by both the STEREO Ahead and Behind spacecraft. This event occurred on the back side of the Sun from Earth and we never would have seen it except for these two spacecraft. The clip shows about 15 hours of activity. Prominences are clouds of gases held above the Sun's surface by magnetic forces. They often become unstable and break away from the Sun.

• prom_304_20101001.mov