Solar prominence (upper right) erupting from the Sun. This is a huge mass of plasma (ionised gas) that is visible as it is much cooler than the surrounding region of the solar atmosphere (corona); a mere 80, 000 Kelvin compared to 1.5 million Kelvin for the corona. The prominence is some 700, 000 kilometres long, and is travelling at 75, 000 kilometres per hour. Such eruptions are associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs), ejections that include powerful magnetic fields that can severely disrupt electronics on Earth. This ejection was directed away from Earth. Image taken by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) on the SOHO spacecraft on 12th March 2004.. Stunning Photo Gifts From Science Photo Library
