IRIS Movie of the Day
At least once a week a movie of the Sun taken by NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) is posted by one of the scientists operating the instrument.
Swirling Eruption
Credit: IRIS, LMSAL/NASA, Tiago Pereira (UiO)
A region of strong magnetic fields at the solar limb produces an eruption (upper part of movie). Due to complex motions and magnetic forces, the ejected plasma is seen swirling and rotating. Some of this plasma falls back down along lines of magnetic field, while another part lingers on above the solar surface for a little longer.