Subj : Daily APOD Report
To   : All
From : Alan Ianson
Date : Sun Jul 28 2024 00:29:08

                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2024 July 28

                                  Sun Dance
      Video Credit: NASA, SDO; Processing: Alan Watson via Helioviewer

   Explanation: Sometimes, the surface of our Sun seems to dance. In the
   middle of 2012, for example, NASA's Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamic
   Observatory spacecraft imaged an impressive prominence that seemed to
   perform a running dive roll like an acrobatic dancer. The dramatic
   explosion was captured in ultraviolet light in the featured time-lapse
   video covering about three hours. A looping magnetic field directed the
   flow of hot plasma on the Sun. The scale of the dancing prominence is
   huge -- the entire Earth would easily fit under the flowing arch of hot
   gas. A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a month and may erupt
   in a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), expelling hot gas into the Solar
   System. The energy mechanism that creates a solar prominence is still a
   topic of research. Like in 2012, this year the Sun's surface is again
   quite active and features many filaments and prominences.

                     Tomorrow's picture: milky way mound
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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