The Sun this week showed off a variety of small prominences, so many that they could be described as a kind of fringe. While these prominences lasted for several days, they were most prolific on May 26, 2006. On that day one could count five or six of these smaller prominences sprouting out along the edge of the Sun as seen from SOHO. These are more prominences than are usually seen around the Sun and amateur solar observers are having a field day with them.

Prominences are cooler clouds of gas suspended above the surface of the Sun. They are controlled by powerful magnetic forces and we are witnessing the force a magnetic field exerts on the plasma (that is, electrically charged material) trying to move across the field.

Previous Picks of the Week

SOHO began its Weekly Pick some time after sending a weekly image or video clip to the American Museum of Natural History (Rose Center) in New York City. There, the SOHO Weekly Pick is displayed with some annotations on a large plasma display.

If your institution would also like to receive the same Weekly Pick from us for display (usually in Photoshop or QuickTime format), please send your inquiry to steele.hill@gsfc.nasa.gov.