APOD
A Prominent Solar Prominence
January 27, 1997
About This Image
One of the most spectacular solar sights is a prominence. A solar prominence is a cloud of solar gas held above the Sun's surface by the Sun's magnetic field. The Earth would easily fit under one of the loops of the prominence shown in the above picture. A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a month, and may erupt in a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) expelling hot gas into the Solar System. Although thought by many to be related to the magnetic field, the energy mechanism behind a Solar prominence is still unknown.
On This Day in Space History
On January 27, 1967, the Apollo 1 fire claimed the lives of astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee during a launch pad test.
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