Sedalia Dave Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 What is a Solar Prominence? Picture for scale A solar eruptive prominence as seen in extreme UV light on March 30, 2010 with Earth superimposed for a sense of scale. Credit: NASA/SDO A solar prominence (also known as a filament when viewed against the solar disk) is a large, bright feature extending outward from the Sun’s surface. Prominences are anchored to the Sun’s surface in the photosphere, and extend outwards into the Sun’s hot outer atmosphere, called the corona. A prominence forms over timescales of about a day, and stable prominences may persist in the corona for several months, looping hundreds of thousands of miles into space. Scientists are still researching how and why prominences are formed. The red-glowing looped material is plasma, a hot gas comprised of electrically charged hydrogen and helium. The prominence plasma flows along a tangled and twisted structure of magnetic fields generated by the sun’s internal dynamo. An erupting prominence occurs when such a structure becomes unstable and bursts outward, releasing the plasma. 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dantankerous Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 The scale really puts Earth into perspective. Good Lord... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 I have 3 solar apps on my iPhone. When I first downloaded them some of the pictures or views of the sun truly made me sit up and go “What the heck is that?”. Then I found an app called “MagStorms”. This app put the other 2 apps into perspective. Space Weather and Solar Weather are fascinating apps. MagStorms is the one I use to see if the dramatic photos are bad dramatic photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 Images like this made me wonder if all the electronics would soon be inoperable. Then I would open Mag Storms. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sun Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 A Carrington type event like the one from the 1850's would put the US, and most of the World, back into the 1800's. Forget about all of the electronic gadgets, internet, cell phones (although I kind of like the idea of no cell phones), GPS and most other things electric for a while. It would probably fry most the electrical grid and associated equipment. Without electric, water supplies and food would quickly disappear and civilization would quickly crumble into dog eat dog. Am I going to worry about it...nope....what for? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 37 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said: oing to worry about it...nope....what for? Exactly! I grew up in a paranoid environment and I could easily see my Dad going full hillbilly prepper along with all his friends. For years after leaving home I worried about Soviet Invasion, nuclear war, Fed Govt entities, etc. Then one day I decided that I wasn’t important enough or bad enough for Fed attention. The Soviet issue fizzled. The Deferal Govt doesn’t actually have concentration camps for me and my ilk. As it stands my wife and I keep about 2 months worth of supplies. I have guns and ammo. If the Sun blasts us with mega EMI and everything goes down the tubes, so be it. It just ain’t worth worrying about. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 used tp hear a lot of solar flares and activity as it affected radio and TV signals but not so much in the age of new technology , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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