The European House Company’s Photo voltaic Orbiter mission not too long ago captured a dramatic photo voltaic prominence rising from the sting of the solar, a uncommon and charming sight even for mission scientists accustomed to our dwelling star’s fixed exercise. The footage, recorded earlier this yr by the spacecraft’s Excessive Ultraviolet Imager (EUI), exhibits a darkish, arching construction of plasma suspended above the photo voltaic floor.
What’s it?
This photo voltaic prominence is product of electrically charged fuel, or plasma, confined by the solar’s intricate magnetic fields. Though the solar’s environment is blisteringly scorching —usually exceeding a million levels — this trapped plasma is comparatively cool at roughly 18,000 levels Fahrenheit (10,000 levels Celsius).
The prominence’s decrease temperature causes it to seem darker in opposition to the encircling glow of the photo voltaic corona. When such buildings are seen silhouetted in opposition to open area, they’re often called prominences; after they stretch throughout the solar’s seen disk, they’re known as filaments. Each photo voltaic prominences and filaments can prolong for tens of 1000’s of miles, simply surpassing a number of occasions the diameter of Earth.
The place is it?
On the time of the commentary, Photo voltaic Orbiter was positioned about 39 million miles (63 million kilometers) from the solar, a distance similar to Mercury’s orbit.
Why is it superb?
This commentary contributes to Photo voltaic Orbiter’s broader mission to review the solar’s magnetic exercise, photo voltaic wind origins, and energetic processes that affect area climate round Earth.
Launched in 2020, Photo voltaic Orbiter is a collaboration between the European House Company (ESA) and NASA, carrying ten devices that work collectively to look at the solar from a number of views. The Excessive Ultraviolet Imager — led by the Royal Observatory of Belgium — performs a key position in visualizing the photo voltaic environment at excessive decision and capturing phenomena just like the prominence seen on this newest launch.
Because the solar approaches the height of its 11-year exercise cycle, occasions corresponding to prominences, filaments, and coronal mass ejections are anticipated to grow to be extra frequent and pronounced. With the ability to observe these phenomena permits scientists to grasp the magnetic dynamics at play within the solar’s environment.
Need to study extra?
You possibly can study extra concerning the solar’s environment and the Photo voltaic Orbiter.
