Science and Exploration

SDO Sees a Dark Filament Circle On The Sun

By Keith Cowing
Press Release
November 25, 2015
Filed under , , ,
SDO Sees a Dark Filament Circle On The Sun
Dark Filament Circle On The Sun
NASA/ESA/STSCI

A dark, almost circular filament broke away from the sun in a gauzy, feathery swirl, on Nov. 15, 2015, in this video from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
This filament eruption was followed by a second filament breaking away on Nov. 16. Filaments are dark strands of plasma tethered above the sun’s surface by magnetic forces that, over time, often become disrupted and break away from the sun. Filaments appear darker than the surrounding material because of their comparatively cool temperature. This video was taken in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths of 304 angstroms and colorized in red.

SpaceRef co-founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.