A giant plasma filament has been recorded by the SOHO observatory as the filament erupted from the surface of the sun. This plasma filament extends out into space for millions of miles after blasting from the surface.
Plasma filaments are the result of unstable plasma material from the sun driven by powerful magnetic fields. This event began at the end of April, providing a rich research opportunity for solar physicists.
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), launched in 1995, constantly monitors the sun and records activities on the surface of our local stars. The orbiting observatory includes the Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph, one of the instruments that creates an artificial eclipse of the sun, blocking out most of the light from our local star. This allows astronomers to view the corona, or atmosphere of the sun, along with plasma eruptions.
"Solar astronomers around the world had their eyes on this unusually large filament and were thrilled to see it erupt. Both of SOHO's coronagraph instruments show the coronal mass ejection associated with the eruption," the SOHO satellite's mission team reported on their website.
The filament stretched 5.25 million miles from the sun, compared with the 879,000-mile diameter of the star. Earth orbits about 93 million miles away from the sun. Together, with images taken with the Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph, astronomers using SOHO were also able to record wider fields of view using the C2 and C3 instruments aboard the craft.
The European Space Agency (ESA) astronomers also witnessed the event utilizing the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), launched in 2010.
"While some of the material broke away into space, much of it fell back into the sun. The images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. At its greatest height, the plume extended out many times the size of Earth, allowing numerous amateur astronomers to observe this event with their solar telescopes," NASA reported on its SDO webpage.
Plasma filaments are cooler than the surface of the sun, allowing astronomers to easily view the features against the solar surface. When these filaments are aimed toward the Earth, they can cause disruptions to electronic systems, leaving high-altitude satellites at risk from charged particles emanating from the sun. The events can also result in the display of brilliant Northern and Southern Lights. However, astronomers are reassuring the public that this latest eruption is not aimed at our planet and poses no risk to systems.
The latest eruption took place over the course of around six hours. The entire event was compiled into a video released on the SOHO NASA page.
