National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Goddard Space Flight Center
Sun-Earth Day 2009: Our Sun Yours to Discover
IMAGE GALLERY
- Super Prominence
EIT 304Å image of a huge, handle-shaped prominence taken on Sept. 14, 1999 -- Prominences are huge clouds of relatively cool dense plasma suspended in the Sun's hot, thin corona. At times, they can erupt, escaping the Sun's atmosphere. Emission in this spectral line shows the upper chromosphere at a temperature of about 60,000 degrees K. Every feature in the image traces magnetic field structure. The hottest areas appear almost white, while the darker red areas indicate cooler temperatures.
NASA Fact
The most powerful solar flare in the last 500 years occurred on September 2, 1859 and was sighted by two astronomers who happened to be looking at the sun at exactly the right time!