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Solar Prominence

Short answer: A solar prominence is a huge loop of relatively cool, dense plasma (electrically charged hydrogen and helium) hanging in the sun's million-degree corona. Twisted magnetic fields rooted in the photosphere hold it up.

Prominences form in about a day and can sit quietly for months, looping hundreds of thousands of miles above the surface. When the magnetic structure becomes unstable, the prominence erupts and usually becomes the bright core of a coronal mass ejection (CME). CMEs can carry billions of tons of material at speeds from under 250 km/s to nearly 3,000 km/s, and the fastest Earth-directed ones arrive in 15 to 18 hours.

VideoWrite-up5 sources

In collections:The Sun and the Stars

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What should you know about Solar Prominence?

Quick facts. Each one stands alone and has a stable ID you can cite.

  1. Solar prominences are cool, dense loops of plasma held up in the sun's hot corona by twisted magnetic fields. Stable ones can last for months.

    DD-038-F01 · Write-up · Exhibit B (Held up by magnetism)

  2. When a prominence erupts it becomes the bright core of a coronal mass ejection, which can reach Earth in as little as 15 to 18 hours.

    DD-038-F02 · Write-up · Exhibit E (From eruption to CME)

Video transcript: Solar Prominence: Magnetic Fields Hold Rivers of Plasma Above the Sun

DID YOU KNOW? Solar prominences are gigantic arcs of glowing plasma that erupt from the sun's surface, anchored to the photosphere by strong magnetic fields and looping far into the Corona. When they break free, these so-called "eruptive" prominences release billions of tons of charged particles into space, often at speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second, forming coronal mass ejections that can travel toward Earth. NOW YOU KNOW!

Burned-in captions, read frame by frame (see transcript.md) · 22.2s Reel ·

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Solar Prominence: Magnetic Fields Hold Rivers of Plasma Above the Sun Instagram Reel · · 22.2s

The write-up

Magnetic fields hold rivers of plasma above the sun. When a prominence erupts, it can ride out on a billion-ton CME.

  1. Exhibit A

    What a prominence is

    A prominence is a large, bright loop of plasma (electrically charged hydrogen and helium) extending from the sun's surface into the corona. Seen against the solar disk instead of the sky, it's called a filament.

  2. Exhibit B

    Held up by magnetism

    Prominences are anchored in the photosphere. Their plasma flows along a tangled, twisted magnetic structure generated by the sun's internal dynamo.

  3. Exhibit C

    Cool knots in a hot corona

    Prominences are cool, dense threads suspended in a corona that is far hotter. Scientists are still debating how so much cool plasma ends up there; the chromosphere is the only plausible source.

  4. Exhibit D

    Long-lived and enormous

    A prominence forms over about a day. Stable ones can last for months and loop hundreds of thousands of miles into space.

  5. Exhibit E

    From eruption to CME

    When the magnetic structure becomes unstable, the prominence bursts outward. Eruptive prominences show up as the brightest part inside a CME, though they usually take up only a small part of its volume.

  6. Exhibit F

    Space weather

    CMEs can carry billions of tons of material at speeds from under 250 km/s to nearly 3,000 km/s. The fastest Earth-directed ones arrive in 15 to 18 hours; slower ones take several days.

Questions people ask about Solar Prominence

What is a solar prominence called when it's seen against the face of the sun?

It's the same structure. Against the bright disk it looks like a dark thread.

Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (What a prominence is) · What is a solar prominence? (NASA, 2015)

What holds a prominence up above the sun's surface?

Prominence plasma flows along twisted magnetic structures anchored in the photosphere.

Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Held up by magnetism) · What is a solar prominence? (NASA, 2015); Prominences: The Key to Understanding Solar Activity (NASA Technical Reports Server)

How long can a stable prominence last?

Prominences form in about a day, and stable ones can persist for months.

Source: Write-up · Exhibit D (Long-lived and enormous) · What is a solar prominence? (NASA, 2015)

What can an eruptive prominence become part of?

Eruptive prominences show up as the bright core of CMEs.

Source: Write-up · Exhibit E (From eruption to CME) · What is a solar prominence? (NASA, 2015); Gopalswamy, 'Eruptive Prominences and CMEs', in Solar Prominences (Springer, 2014; NASA CDAW preprint); NASA's Heliophysics Fleet Captures May 1, 2013 Prominence Eruption and CME (NASA SVS)

How fast can the fastest Earth-directed CMEs reach Earth?

The fastest travel at nearly 3,000 km/s, according to NOAA.

Source: Write-up · Exhibit F (Space weather) · Coronal Mass Ejections (NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center)

Test Your Knowledge

All quizzes →

5 questions, all from this case file. Answers are revealed instantly.

  1. What is a solar prominence called when it's seen against the face of the sun?

    1. A sunspot
    2. A filament
    3. A flare
    4. A corona
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. A filament It's the same structure. Against the bright disk it looks like a dark thread. Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (What a prominence is) · What is a solar prominence? (NASA, 2015)

  2. What holds a prominence up above the sun's surface?

    1. Solar wind
    2. Twisted magnetic fields
    3. Gravity waves
    4. Nuclear fusion
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Twisted magnetic fields Prominence plasma flows along twisted magnetic structures anchored in the photosphere. Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (Held up by magnetism) · What is a solar prominence? (NASA, 2015); Prominences: The Key to Understanding Solar Activity (NASA Technical Reports Server)

  3. How long can a stable prominence last?

    1. A few seconds
    2. About an hour
    3. Several months
    4. Millions of years
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. Several months Prominences form in about a day, and stable ones can persist for months. Source: Write-up · Exhibit D (Long-lived and enormous) · What is a solar prominence? (NASA, 2015)

  4. What can an eruptive prominence become part of?

    1. A black hole
    2. A coronal mass ejection
    3. A comet
    4. An aurora on the sun
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. A coronal mass ejection Eruptive prominences show up as the bright core of CMEs. Source: Write-up · Exhibit E (From eruption to CME) · What is a solar prominence? (NASA, 2015); Gopalswamy, 'Eruptive Prominences and CMEs', in Solar Prominences (Springer, 2014; NASA CDAW preprint); NASA's Heliophysics Fleet Captures May 1, 2013 Prominence Eruption and CME (NASA SVS)

  5. How fast can the fastest Earth-directed CMEs reach Earth?

    1. 15 to 18 hours
    2. About a month
    3. 8 minutes
    4. A year
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. 15 to 18 hours The fastest travel at nearly 3,000 km/s, according to NOAA. Source: Write-up · Exhibit F (Space weather) · Coronal Mass Ejections (NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center)

Cite this case file

Easterling, Marcus. "Solar Prominence." The Detail Department (DetailEnjoyer), case file DD-038, last updated Sep 7, 2025. https://detailenjoyer.com/case/solar-prominence/

Permalink: https://detailenjoyer.com/case/solar-prominence/ · Last updated

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