A Twisted Solar Eruptive Prominence

Explanation: A huge eruptive prominence is seen moving out from our Sun in this condensed half-hour time-lapse sequence. Ten Earths could easily fit in the “claw” of this seemingly solar monster. This large prominence , though, is significant not only for its size, but its shape. The twisted figure eight shape indicates that a complex magnetic field threads through the emerging solar particles . Recent evidence of differential rotation inside the Sun might help account for the surface explosion. The sequence was taken early this year by the Sun-orbiting SOHO satellite . Although large prominence s and energetic Coronal Mass Ejection s (CMEs) are relatively rare, they are occurring more frequently now that we are near the Solar Maximum , a time of peak sunspot and solar activity in the eleven-year solar cycle .