Lingering Prominances

[Sunshine]

While obsering a tiny detached flare hover over the surface I couldn’t help but wonder how it could exist for so long. For the better part of an hour I enjoyed watching this small piece of sun change and dissipate, and slow it did. How can proms exist for so long whith the solar wind blasting off the surface into space, i guess the same can be asked of a cloud high up in the sky but I would expect the sun to dissipate proms much faster than seems be.

[Neil H]

Hi I noticed the same the sun is amazing I wondered if it had anything to do with magnetic fields from the sun holding the prom together so it can't dissipate so quickly 

[laudropb]

I suppose you have to remember most of these proms and detached flares are actually larger than the Earth and it will take time for them to dissipate.

[Nik271]

Some are known as quiescent prominences, and can stay for days or even weeks in places where the magnetic field is stable. There are a few of these on the sun right now.

The active prominences have a much shorter life span and are fun to watch over the space a few minutes or hours. Precisely why and how promineces form is not well understood. The scale of these fascinating objects is huge indeed.

 

[Sunshine]

7 minutes ago, laudropb said:

I suppose you have to remember most of these proms and detached flares are actually larger than the Earth and it will take time for them to dissipate.

Oh yes im aware but i figured its all relative, they’re bigger than earth but them how big is the sun and how much energy does it put out.

[laudropb]

You also have to consider how much energy has been imparted to them to allow them to escape the Sun’s gravity and also the high speeds they are travelling at. I think we both agree that they are wonderful spectacles to watch and one of the many joys of solar observation