The space around the Sun today
WATCH for gigantic eruptions called coronal mass ejections, seen briefly as broad bubbles curving outwards from Sun. More commonplace features are the bright spikes of relatively dense gas, protruding straight out in various directions. If you're lucky, you may spot a comet as a small white arrowhead pointing directly towards the Sun. The red image (C2) shows the space quite close to the Sun, whilst this blue image (C3) gives a much wider view. In each case a round mask cuts out direct sunlight, and the white ring denotes the Sun's true size.

EIT 171 Å	EIT 195 Å	EIT 284 Å
EIT 304 Å	LASCO C2

 
 
Last update: 3 May 2011