Context:
Recently, an Argentina-based astronomer captured a structure that looked like a wall of plasma on the surface of the sun.
Relevance:
GS III: Science and Technology
Dimensions of the Article:
- About Polar crown prominences (PCP):
- Solar Prominences
- Solar Filaments
Polar Crown Prominences (PCP)
- PCP are plasma loops ejected from the sun’s surface by magnetic fields, similar to normal solar prominences.
- They occur at latitudes between 60 and 70 degrees North and South, near the sun’s magnetic poles.
- PCP collapse back towards the sun due to the stronger magnetic fields near the poles.
- They are also called “plasma waterfalls” due to their collapsing behavior.
Solar Prominences:
- Solar prominences are large, loop-like structures visible on the edge of the solar disk against the dark background of space.
- They are anchored to the Sun’s surface in the photosphere and extend into the corona.
- They are cooler and denser than the surrounding plasma in the Sun’s corona and are shaped by the Sun’s magnetic field.
- Prominences can extend for thousands of kilometers and can last for several days or up to several months.
- Some prominences erupt and give rise to coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
Solar Filaments:
- Sometimes, prominences are observed against the bright background of the Sun instead of at the edge of the Sun’s disk.
- These prominences appear dark compared to the bright background of the Sun and are called solar filaments
-Source: The Hindu
