NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured a stunning filament of solar material snaking around the Sun.
The filament, which is a cloud of solar material suspended by the Sun's magnetic forces, stretches about one million miles from end to end, NASA reported. These filaments are known for being unstable, but can last for weeks on the face of the Sun.
SDO captured the filament in a number of wavelengths, each of which reveals the status of different temperatures of the Sun. Looking at these different wavelengths can help researchers gain insight into what causes these snake-like structures to pop up, as well as what triggers them to eventually explode and launch into space.
SDO has its "eyes" trained on the Sun 24 hours a day, allowing it to spot the giant filament. If stretched out, the filament would be about 100 times the size of Earth.
The images above present the filament as it appears in different wavelengths. The brownish photo consists of a blend between two types of extreme UV light with wavelengths of 193 and 335 Angstroms; the red image displays the 304 Angstrom wavelength of extreme UV light.
In January 2014 an even larger behemoth filament snaked across the Sun. This layer of gas would have been about 500,000 miles long if stretched end to end. In February a solar filament eruption along with a fast solar wind stream headed towards Earth may have triggered a dazzling aurora display.
"Even with the moonlight, there was a nice arch of Aurora easily visible to the naked eye in rural Minnehaha County in Southeast South Dakota between midnight and 12:30 a.m.," Christian Begeman, who took the photograph below on Feb. 18, 2014 told NASA.
