Spin-off

STEREO (Ahead) spacecraft watched closely as a solar prominence rose up and spun-off above the Sun over a three-hour period (June 14, 2009). As observed in the 304 Angstrom wavelength of extreme UV light, the gases in a prominence became unstable and broke away from the Sun. Known for being fairly unstable, prominences hover above the Sun, tethered by magnetic forces until some force triggers their breaking away. At its peak, this prominence was over 25 Earths above the Sun. Prominences like this one can be and often are observed by amateur astronomers with solar telescopes.

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• 304A_prom_090614_lo.mov - (552 mb)   
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