Magnetic Field Arches

When an active region rotated into a profile view, SDO was able to capture the magnificent loops arching above an active region (Sept. 28-29, 2016). Active region are areas of strong magnetic fields. The magnetic field lines above these regions are illuminated by charged particles spiraling along them. The images were taken in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. The video covers 12 hours of activity. The Earth was inset to give a sense of the scale of these towering arches. Movies are available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21101