Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2022 September 13
   [2]The featured image shows a long filament snaking across the face of
     the Sun. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                     A Long Snaking Filament on the Sun
     Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Alan Friedman ([4]Averted Imagination)

   Explanation: Earlier this month, the Sun exhibited one of the longer
   filaments on record. Visible as the bright curving streak around the
   image center, the snaking filament's full extent was estimated to be
   over half of the [5]Sun's radius -- more than 350,000 kilometers long.
   A filament is composed of [6]hot gas held aloft by the Sun's magnetic
   field, so that viewed from the side it would appear as a [7]raised
   prominence. A different, smaller prominence is simultaneously visible
   at the Sun's edge. The [8]featured image is in false-color and
   color-inverted to highlight not only the [9]filament but the Sun's
   [10]carpet [11]chromosphere. The bright dot on the upper right is
   actually a [12]dark sunspot about the [13]size of the Earth. Solar
   [14]filaments typically last from hours to days, eventually collapsing
   to return hot [15]plasma back to the Sun. Sometimes, though, they
   [16]explode and [17]expel particles into the [18]Solar System, some of
   which trigger [19]auroras on Earth. The [20]pictured filament appeared
   in early September and continued to [21]hold steady for about a week.

                   Tomorrow's picture: waving space lizard
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [33]Robert Nemiroff ([34]MTU) & [35]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([36]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [37]Specific rights apply.
              [38]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [39]ASD at [40]NASA / [41]GSFC,
                         [42]NASA Science Activation
                           & [43]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2209/SnakingFilament_Friedman_960.jpg
   3. https://avertedimagination.squarespace.com/about
   4. https://www.avertedimagination.com/
   5. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/in-depth/
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120820.html
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140304.html
   8. https://avertedimagination.com/img_pages/great_wall_2022.html
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150210.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap971106.html
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromosphere
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150629.html
  13. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/by-the-numbers/
  14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_prominence
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_(physics)
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190526.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180902.html
  18. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/our-solar-system/overview/
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220322.html
  20. https://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=188146
  21. https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/cute-kitten-hanging-on-to-rope-isolated-on-white-picture-id152959821
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220912.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  31. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220913
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220914.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  35. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  36. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  39. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  42. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  43. http://www.mtu.edu/