Rare footage of the Sun erupting

Nasa spacecraft have captured rare footage of the Sun erupting over a 30 hour period. The agency's twin stereo crafts "Behind" and "Ahead" filmed the star between September 26 and September 27. Nasa says that the eruption was one of "prominences" - That means clouds of cooler gas suspended above the Sun's surface by magnetic forces. The eruption was so large that both the spacecraft were able to observe the sensation for hours on end, one of the first times this has occurred. It all came to an end eventually though, and the cloud lifted up, broke away and headed into outer space.

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ITN | October 14, 2009

Tags:. .spacecraft. .eruption. .erupting. .sensation. .cooler