Solar Material Filament Extends One Million Miles Across the Sun

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has spotted a new and unusual finding on the surface of our sun. Scientists have discovered a snaking, extended filament of solar material that currently lies on the front of the sun and extends about one million miles across from end to end.

Filaments are clouds of solar material that are suspended above the sun by powerful magnetic forces. While they're notoriously unstable, some filaments can last for days or even weeks. In this case, the SDO captured images of the filament in numerous wavelengths, each of which helps highlight material of different temperatures of the sun. By looking at this particular feature in different wavelengths and temperatures, the researchers can learn more about what causes similar structures. In addition, they can learn what catalyzes their giant eruptions out into space.

NASA's SDO watches the sun 24 hours per day. In this case, it's observed the gigantic filament for several days as it rotated around with the sun. If it straightened out, the filament would reach around the entire star, which would make it about 100 times the size of Earth.

The recent observations reveal a bit more about this unusual feature and may tell scientists about similar phenomena. The images captured by SDO pave the way for future research and tells scientists a bit more about the daily functioning of our nearest star.

You can learn more about the SDO and our sun on NASA's website.