LLAMADO ▲ NASA’s SDO Sees Circular Outburst

NASA’s SDO Sees Circular Outburst

A round solar prominence burst from the sun on March 13, 2016, shortly after it rotated into the view of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO. Much of the solar material did not escape the sun’s gravitational pull, falling back to the solar surface. Prominences – called filaments when seen against the sun’s face instead of over the horizon – are notoriously unstable clouds of solar material suspended above the solar surface by the sun’s complex magnetic forces. They often break apart after a few days. This video was made from images taken every 12 seconds by SDO – the fastest-ever cadence for solar observations from space. This prominence was captured in wavelengths of 304 angstroms, a type of extreme ultraviolet light that is typically invisible to our eyes, but is colorized here in red. This video is public domain and may be downloaded at: http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/Circle_burst304_big.mp4 Read more: http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/nasa-s-sdo-sees-circular-outburst Credit: NASA/SDO