SDO: Pick of the Week (2012 Aug 17)

[bystander]

Spiraling Loops

A close-up of an active region shows how quickly huge spirals of loops can jut out from the Sun. The image, taken in extreme ultraviolet light, offers a clear view in profile of magnetic particles spinning along criss-crossing arcs of magnetic field lines (taken in the AIA 171 wavelength but colorized red) from Aug. 14 at 20:48 UT to 19:00 UT on Aug. 15. So, the video covers almost one full day's worth of activity. The active region on the left of the image shows its own loops as well as streams of plasma jumping back and forth. Earth could easily sit inside any of these loops.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO/AIA

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