A stunning solar ‘waterfall’ has been discovered on the surface of the Sun.
The image, taken by astrophotographer Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau on March 9, shows a wall of plasma being shot “about 100,000 kilometers” — or about 62,000 miles — toward space, Poupeau said spaceweather.com.
That’s high enough to swallow about eight Earths.
The plasma then appears to flow back toward the Sun, giving the structure the nickname “Waterfall.”
“On my computer screen, it looked like hundreds of filaments of plasma were dripping down a wall. It was truly a spectacle that left me speechless,” said Poupeau said the publication.
Scientists estimate the plasma is falling back at tremendous speeds — up to 22,370 miles per hour per space.com.
These plasma waterfalls are the solar equivalent of Earth’s auroras
This structure is called a polar crown prominence.
Prominences on the Sun usually take the form of giant tentacles of hot plasma that arc out into space, as seen below.
But when these prominences occur near the sun’s poles, more specifically around the Arctic Circle, the magnetic fields are so strong that instead of exploding into space, the plasma can fall back to the sun very quickly.
Because of the location of these prominences, NASA compares them to auroras because they orbit the poles at about 60 to 70 degrees latitude on the Sun.
“Instead of northern lights, however, the sun’s ovals are filled with dancing layers of plasma,” says a NASA blog post.
You can see these structures lining up around the Arctic Circle.
The sun is nearing a peak in activity
This is just the latest in a series of brilliant solar events that have occurred over the past few months as our Sun closes in on one peak of activity.
Roughly every decade, the sun’s magnetic poles flip, wreaking havoc with localized magnetic fields exploding across our star. Notable solar events are more likely to occur during this period.
Examples of current solar events are:
- A plasma vortex swirl around the sun pole like a whirlpool.
- A mighty one coronal “hole” in our sun, which has been spewing energy towards the earth for the last few weeks.
- polar lights sighted as far south as New Mexico.
- A solar “tornado” the size of 14 Earths formed when a prominence was pinched between magnetic fields.
Space weather isn’t just beautiful
Scientists don’t just look to the Sun to see these beautiful structures. With solar events comes space weather that can harm our planet.
Each of these major solar events can unleash waves of energy that rush from the sun into space. If they are directed towards the earth, these are called solar storms could be damage power grids and other infrastructure if not managed properly, scientists previously told Insider.
This article was originally published by Business Insider.
More from Business Insider:
