Why do prominences occur

Maybe the most intriguing is a so-called solar prominence. Astronomy enthusiasts, eclipse chasers, and Sun watchers talk about solar prominences all the time. So just what is a solar prominence, anyway?

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Registration is FREE and only takes a couple minutes. Login or Register now. Most recent Oldest to newest. Long trips to space linked to possible brain damage. First crewed Artemis Moon landing delayed until at least How would a human body decompose on Mars? The barrage of protons created excessive "noise" that scrambled the satellite's sensors. Powerful solar flares, or solar clouds, can have a similar effect on ground communications and even disrupt transmission in electrical power grids.

In , one of the largest solar flares on record created a complete blackout of high-frequency communications on the side of Earth facing the sun at the time, which included the entire U.

GPS and satellite TV reception can be also be impacted by such activity from the sun. The most extreme aspect of a solar prominence is the coronal mass ejection CME. In addition to damaging communications, the intensity of a CME can drag on satellites and threaten their orbits. A particularly bad CME could pose radiation risks on earth, but they are certainly a major risk to astronauts.

Because of the speed with which CMEs and solar flares propagate through space, quick access to proper protection will have to be a part of any manned missions to Mars or the Moon. In , U. Radiation from the sun does have a silver lining, however. The Northern Lights, aurora borealis, are the result of changes in the earth's magnetosphere caused by the solar wind.

These enormous structures are called solar prominences. Although prominences appear to be very bright and hot, they are actually much cooler and denser than the surrounding plasma in the Sun's corona outermost atmosphere.

Prominences are shaped by the Sun's complex magnetic field, often forming loops with each end "anchored" to the Sun's surface photosphere. Prominences are enormous, extending for many thousands of kilometers miles.