Astronomy Picture of the Day
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
professional astronomer.
2018 October 10
Sun Dance
Video Credit: NASA [2] , SDO [3] ; Processing: Alan Watson via Helioviewer
[4]
Explanation: Sometimes, the surface of our Sun seems to dance. In the middle
of 2012, for example, NASA's Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamic Observatory [5]
spacecraft imaged an impressive prominence [6] that seemed to perform a
running dive roll [7] like an acrobatic dancer. The dramatic explosion [8]
was captured [9] in ultraviolet light [10] in the featured time-lapse video
[11] covering about three hours. A looping magnetic field [12] directed the
flow of hot plasma [13] on the Sun [14] . The scale of the dancing prominence
[15] is huge -- the entire Earth [16] would easily fit under the flowing
arch [17] of hot gas. A quiescent prominence typically [18] lasts about a
month, and may erupt in a Coronal Mass Ejection [19] (CME) expelling hot gas
[20] into the Solar System [21] . The energy mechanism that creates a solar
prominence [22] is still a topic of research [23] . Unlike 2012, this year
the Sun's surface is significantly more serene [24] , featuring fewer spinning
prominences, as it is near the minimum [25] in its 11-year magnetic cycle
[26] .
Tomorrow's picture: launch and landing
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [38] (MTU [39] ) & Jerry Bonnell [40]
(UMCP [41] )
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [42] .
NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices [43]
A service of: ASD [44] at NASA [45] / GSFC [46]
& Michigan Tech. U. [47]
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Site notes:
[1] archivepix.html
[2] https://www.nasa.gov/
[3] https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/
[4] https://helioviewer.org/
[5] https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sdo/main/i...
[6] ap030223.html
[7] https://youtu.be/VzALZjoIx0g?t=225
[8] ap110307.html
[9] http://cometal-comets.blogspot.com/2012/08/sd...
[10] https://science.nasa.gov/ems/10_ultravioletwa...
[11] https://www.youtube.com/embed/hQFEHH5E69s
[12] https://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/the_key.sh...
[13] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_(physics...
[14] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun...
[15] ap000809.html
[16] ap121207.html
[17] ap170429.html
[18] http://solar.physics.montana.edu/YPOP/Program...
[19] https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/coronal-m...
[20] ap010924.html
[21] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_Solar_Sys...
[22] ap030707.html
[23] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004ApJ...600.1...
[24] ap180820.html
[25]
https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/news-ar...
[26] ap071203.html
[27] ap181009.html
[28] archivepix.html
[29] lib/apsubmit2015.html
[30] lib/aptree.html
[31] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apo...
[32] calendar/allyears.html
[33] /apod.rss
[34] lib/edlinks.html
[35] lib/about_apod.html
[36] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?dat...
[37] ap181011.html
[38] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
[39] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
[40] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnel...
[41] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
[42] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
[43] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Priv...
[44] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
[45] https://www.nasa.gov/
[46] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
[47] http://www.mtu.edu/
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