An incredibly large plasma plume was ejected from the sun’s south pole into space, where outbursts almost never occur. The explosion captured in the image is a sign that the sun is on the edge of its most active phase: solar maximum, LiveScience writes.
The rare phenomenon occurred during a solar flare from a sunspot near the sun’s south pole. A gigantic column of gas or plasma was ejected into space, rising 15,000 km above the star’s surface.
The plasma then broke away from the surface and flew into space as a coronal mass ejection (CME).
The process was recorded by an astrophotographer Eduardo Schaberger Pupo. The image was taken before the plasma plume separated from the solar surface.
“The resulting plasma column was so large that I had to change the position of the camera to fit the object into the frame,” says the astrophotographer.
The uniqueness of this explosion lies in the fact that it took place in a very unusual place: at the south pole of the sun. Most sunspot explosions occur at or around the star’s equator, near the magnetic poles, where the magnetic field is strongest.
Due to the location of the solar flare, the coronal mass ejection was not aimed at Earth or other planets in the solar system.
Experts believe that this unusual outburst is due to what science believes is the filament of the polar corona. It is a magnetic loop that revolves around the magnetic poles of the sun. The plasma plume emitted by the flame is known as a polar corona prominence.
Such prominences often occur during solar maximum, the most active phase of the eleven-year solar cycle. At this stage the magnetic loops tighten around the poles like a noose. When such loops are compressed, they suffocate nearby magnetic fields, increasing the likelihood of explosions.
According to experts, solar maximum will occur in the coming months, earlier than expected.
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