February 24, 2014
When a solar filament above the Sun's surface (the darker, slanted line seen before the eruption)) became unstable and erupted, it briefly left an empty channel that was almost immediately followed by a series magnetic loops reconnecting (Feb. 18, 2014) over the channel. The action was caught in this combination of two wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light (AIA 171 and AIA 304). This kind of channel eruption is not rare, but not usually observed so clearly. Still image was taken at 2:17 UT. Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA.
Topics: Environment, Technology Internet, Volcanology, Geology, Plasma physics, Solar Dynamics Observatory, Types of volcanic eruptions, Ultraviolet, Solar prominence, Plate tectonics, Sun, Solar telescopes, Space plasmas, Io