Dancing Prominence - Oct. 31- Nov. 1, 2007

The STEREO (behind) spacecraft observed this small prominence rising up from the Sun’s surface, twisting around, and subsiding over about a 36-hour period (Oct. 31- Nov. 1, 2007). The charged particles that make up the prominence are responding to powerful magnetic forces that compel the prominence to bend to the arcing field lines. But the forces are not constant: they are often in flux. We see this when the direction of the particles changes near the end of the clip. The material seen at this wavelength is heated to about 60,000 degrees.

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