IKBFU Astronomers Spot an Unusual Solar Prominence

The IKBFU Astronomical society filmed an unusual prominence — a giant fountain of glowing gas that is raised above the surface of the Sun by the magnetic field. This is a rare phenomenon occurring in conditions of increased solar activity and the formation of powerful centres of magnetic lines out of the Sun's surface.

Alexei Baigashov, Head of the IKBFU Astronomical society:
A prominence broke away from the surface of the Sun and rose to a height of 400 thousand kilometres! In the centre of the frame it is possible to see two prominences at once. On the right, the arc of a regular prominence rises in an irregular arch, and to the left and above, a huge, about three hundred thousand kilometres long, loop-shaped prominence seems to be frozen in space. In fact, of course, the static nature of the prominence is illusory. This is clearly visible in the animation, collected from several thousand frames. As you can see, the substance of the prominence is constantly moving along the magnetic field lines, as if closing a colossal loop over the surface of the Sun, which is why this type of prominence got its name. To the right you can see the process of appearance of a normal prominence, accompanied by a similar movement of matter, closed on the solar surface.

Alexei Baigashov, Head of the IKBFU Astronomical society:

A prominence broke away from the surface of the Sun and rose to a height of 400 thousand kilometres! In the centre of the frame it is possible to see two prominences at once. On the right, the arc of a regular prominence rises in an irregular arch, and to the left and above, a huge, about three hundred thousand kilometres long, loop-shaped prominence seems to be frozen in space. In fact, of course, the static nature of the prominence is illusory. This is clearly visible in the animation, collected from several thousand frames. As you can see, the substance of the prominence is constantly moving along the magnetic field lines, as if closing a colossal loop over the surface of the Sun, which is why this type of prominence got its name. To the right you can see the process of appearance of a normal prominence, accompanied by a similar movement of matter, closed on the solar surface.

Obtaining such images and animations is a complex and painstaking process that requires a great deal of surveying experience. A single photograph of the solar surface is the combination of 2,300 individual frames from a special astrophotography camera connected to the Coronado PST solar telescope.