The pair of stills about four hours apart was taken on June 25-26, 2006 by the EIT 195 instrument. They show a long filament that had been visible for days before and after its eruption.

Filaments are cooler, dynamic structures that coalesce and "float" in the otherwise hot corona above the Sun's surface, sometimes for several weeks. Since they are cooler, they appear somewhat darker. Filaments are suspended by strong magnetic forces. However when conditions change can collapse and erupt, as this one did here (more easily seen in the video clip).

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.