March 19, 2014: Lovely proms on the sun

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Just had a belated solar observing break, and the sun is putting on quite a spectacle. I immediately spotted a sunspot north and a bit west of centre, and several large filaments could be seen zigzagging across the disc further south. Northwards on the eastern limb, a nearly linear prom stood out at an angle of so 60 degrees from the curve of the limb. It was rooted in a very active bright patch just this side of the limb. Initially, it looked like two linear structures very close together, like a V shape with a very acute angle between the legs, or perhaps a loop seen at a very acute angle. Later one of the two lines seemed to fade a bit.  A bit south a smaller prom was visible. Further south still, a huge, complex curved prom arced towards the bright prom northwards. It looked like a broad, twisted sheet of plasma heading north. A very thin filament could be seen stretching further northwards in the direction of the bright prom. The western limb was more quiet, but a fainter linear prom stood out towards the north-west, almost at right angles with the limb, and a smaller, fainter mushroom-shaped prom was visible further northwards.

Well worth a look

[SimonfromSussex]

Thanks for the heads up Michael, its still cloudy here but due to clear soon hopefully so I will pop out for a look if it does!

[Pig]

I have been watching them for quite a while now  Michael, absolutely wonderful, the one the outer edge is a lot smaller now than it was earlier

[Peter Drew]

Don't forget that you can watch these solar events in almost real time on GONG when it's either cloudy or night time via a global array of solar telescopes. 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Don't forget that you can watch these solar events in almost real time on GONG when it's either cloudy or night time via a global array of solar telescopes. 

True, and very valuable in our climate, but nothing beats seeing it through a scope. It's like the difference between a recording and a live concert I suppose.