The astrophotographer captured that breathtaking image of a wall of plasma plummeting at incredible speeds toward the solar surface after being spewed out near the south pole of the Sun.
This 19 August, 2004 NASA Solar and Heliospheric Administration (SOHO) image shows a solar flare(R) erupting from giant sunspot 649. The powerful explosion hurled a coronal mass ejection(CME) into space, but it was directed toward Earth.
Plasma Waterfall Rose Above Sun's Surface
Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau, who lives near Rafaela in Argentina, caught the stunning image on March 9 using specialist camera equipment.
Poupeau told Spaceweather.com that the plasma wall raised about 62,000 miles (100,000 km) above the Sun's surface, which is roughly the height of eight Earths piled on top of one another. It looked like hundreds of strands of plasma were trickling down a wall on my computer screen, Poupeau remarked.
According to Spaceweather.com, the brilliant phenomenon is known as a polar crown prominence (PCP), which is similar to regular solar prominences in that they are loops of plasma or ionized gas expelled from the solar surface by magnetic fields.
NASA said PCPs originate near the Sun's magnetic poles at latitudes between 60 and 70 degrees North and South, which leads them to collapse back towards the sun since the magnetic fields are considerably stronger towards the poles. Their return to the light has earned them the moniker "plasma waterfall."
Since the plasma within PCPs is still trapped by the magnetic field that ejected them, it is not in freefall. As NASA said, the plasma moves downward at rates of up to 22,370 mph (36,000 km/h), which is significantly quicker than the magnetic fields should allow based on expert predictions. Researchers are still attempting to understand how this is achieved.
A 2021 study published in the journal Frontiers in Physics revealed that PCPs undergo two phases during an eruption. The first one is a slow phase where plasma shoots up while the second phase is fast where plasma accelerates towards its altitude peak. Further study is needed to determine whether this affects how the plasma falls back to the surface.
READ ALSO: Solar Flare Delivers 'Glancing Blow' to Earth Causing Geomagnetic Storm That Could Affect Power Supply
PCP's Relevance to Studying Nuclear Energy
Solar prominences are usually accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which is why solar physicists often study these phenomena.
On the other hand, Live Science reports that nuclear physicists are also interested in PCPs because the Sun's magnetic field appears to be especially good at controlling plasma loops in the polar regions, which might yield insights that assist researchers to improve experimental nuclear fusion reactors.
As per NASA, PCPs are relatively common and can occur virtually every day. However, photographs of the phenomena like the one Poupeau obtained are uncommon. Yet, when the sun approaches the solar maximum in its 11-year cycle, PCPs and many other plasma-related solar phenomena may become more common and severe.
For instance, a massive solar prominence was detected on February 2 that appeared below the latitude needed to be classified as a PCP. It broke from the solar surface and was trapped in a massive and fast-moving polar vortex around the Sun's north pole for eight hours. Other events have also been detected and reported in the previous months as the solar cycle nears its peak.
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