APOD: Dark Filament of the Sun (2010 May 22)

[APOD Robot]

Dark Filament of the Sun

Explanation: Suspended by magnetic fields above a solar active region this dark filament stretches over 40 earth-diameters. The ominous structure appears to be frozen in time near the Sun's edge, but solar filaments are unstable and often erupt. The detailed scene was captured on May 18 in extreme ultraviolet light by cameras on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory. While the cooler plasma of the filament looks dark, hotter, brighter plasma below traces magnetic field lines emerging from the active region. When seen arcing above the edge of the Sun, filaments actually look bright against the dark background of space and are called prominences.

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[bystander]

Filament with the full disk of the Sun

[orin stepanek]

Hot picture!

[biddie67]

That lazy ol' sun - it don't do nuttin' but burn away ....

[biddie67]

P.S. I just noticed - the time stamp in the above comment seems to be off. It's 8:50 AM CDT here where I am.

[Chris Peterson]

P.S. I just noticed - the time stamp in the above comment seems to be off. It's 8:50 AM CDT here where I am.

The server's clock itself is currently 15 minutes slow. It should be kept accurate from a network time reference, but apparently is not. The remaining hour of error is probably something to do with your time zone settings. There seems to be something a little wrong with phpBB when it comes to times. I'm currently on Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-6, but the info bar at the bottom says UTC-7, MST. I do have my user preference set to MST with DST active, however. So the status should really show UTC-6.

That said, I'm seeing the correct time stamp on this post, except for the 15 minute server time error. Make sure you have your timezone set to CST (UT-6) and the DST box below that checked.

[nasagary]

the prominence on the upper left image seem to be slanted, is this caused by magnectic field or rotation of the sun?

[Chris Peterson]

the prominence on the upper left image seem to be slanted, is this caused by magnectic field or rotation of the sun?

The actual position of prominences is dictated by the magnetic fields they follow. The apparent position is also determined by perspective effects given a single viewpoint. The Sun rotates too slowly in comparison to the lifetime of prominences to have much impact on them.

[neufer]

That lazy ol' sun - it don't do nuttin' but burn away ....

• You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
  You make me happy when skies are gray
  You'll nEVER know dear how much I love you
  Please don't take my sunshine away.

[Beyond]

WoW! Another one of those Amazing photos. My first thought was - It came from beneath...........

[orin stepanek]

That lazy ol' sun - it don't do nuttin' but burn away ....

• You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
  You make me happy when skies are gray
  You'll nEVER know dear how much I love you
  Please don't take my sunshine away.

I like starlight; star bright; first star I see tonight! Only the star Sol shines in the daytime. Although the star Sol makes it daytime.

[neufer]

I like starlight; star bright; first star I see tonight!
Only the star Sol shines in the daytime.
Although the star Sol makes it daytime.

• What is the origin of wishing upon a star?

<<The planet Venus is named for the Roman goddess of love and is always the brightest point in the sky. The Romans built temples to Venus, and since it was the first "star" that could be seen in the sky for much of the year, and always the brightest whether seen in the morning or the evening, it was an easy way to remember it as a prayer point. What is the #1 thing that people prayed to Venus for? Love, of course.

The prayer evolved into a wish as people forgot the Goddess of Love and her origins, and the wish expanded into realms well outside the beginning point. Like so many other traditions and habits ingrained in people that have found their way into modern religions, wishing upon a star evolved from an ancient pagan religion.>>

<<Lucifer is a Latin word (from the words lucem ferre), literally meaning "light-bearer", which in that language is used as a name for the dawn appearance of the planet Venus, heralding daylight. In English, "Lucifer" generally refers to Satan, although the name is not applied to him in the New Testament. The use of the name "Lucifer" in reference to a fallen angel stems from an interpretation of Isaiah 14:3–20, a passage that speaks of a particular Babylonian King, to whom it gives the title of "Day Star", "Morning Star" (in Latin, lucifer), as fallen or destined to fall from the heavens or sky. In 2 Peter 1:19 and elsewhere, the same Latin word lucifer is used to refer to the Morning Star, with no relation to the devil. However, in post-New Testament times the Latin word Lucifer has often been used as a name for the devil, both in religious writing and in fiction.

Joseph Campbell (1972: pp. 148–149) illustrates an unorthodox Islamic reading of Lucifer's fall from Heaven,
which champions Lucifer's eclipsing love for God:

• "One of the most amazing images of love that I know is in Persian – a mystical Persian representation as Satan as the most loyal lover of God. You will have heard the old legend of how, when God created the angels, he commanded them to pay worship to no one but himself; but then, creating man, he commanded them to bow in reverence to this most noble of his works, and Lucifer refused – because, we are told, of his pride. However, according to this Muslim reading of his case, it was rather because he loved and adored God so deeply and intensely that he could not bring himself to bow before anything else, and because he refused to bow down to something inferior to him (since he was made of fire, and man from clay). And it was for that that he was flung into Hell, condemned to exist there forever, apart from his love."

The Sufi teacher Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan taught that 'Luciferian Light' is Light that has become dislocated from the Divine Source and is thus associated with the seductive false light of the lower ego, which lures humankind into self-centered delusion. Here Lucifer represents what the Sufis term the 'Nafs', the ego.>>

[biddie67]

Mr. Peterson .... Thanks for the clue about the time settings in my profile -- I don't have blonde hair but sometimes my brain seems to behave like I do (( grin ))

P.S. Hey I just noticed that I was graduated to "Science Officer" - Lord help us - science might be going to take a tilt!!!

[Beyond]

biddie 67- i just saw the finish to the movie "legally Blond". The star of the movie has given great credence to Blonds

[tesla]

Plasma cannot exist without flowing electric currents. Magnetic field lines cannot exist without flowing electric currents. Really simple electrical theory. So, how does the Sun really work?

[Chris Peterson]

Plasma cannot exist without flowing electric currents. Magnetic field lines cannot exist without flowing electric currents. Really simple electrical theory. So, how does the Sun really work?

A plasma is nothing more than an ionized gas. It is conductive, but that doesn't mean that there must be currents flowing. As I've pointed out to you before (and which you've ignored), magnetic fields can clearly exist without flowing electric current- or do you imagine there is current flow in the magnet holding your shopping list to the refrigerator?

The Sun works by fusing hydrogen to helium. That is its energy source. The structure we see near the surface of the Sun is an interplay between conductive plasma and the powerful magnetic field of the Sun, which is produced by convective processes.

[DavidLeodis]

Images of the Sun from such as the SDO and SOHO are awesome.

It will though be a momentous day when the words of the Walker Brothers song come into effect "The sun ain't gonna shine anymore. The moon ain't gonna rise in the sky". No doubt though by then any knowledge of our existence may have long been lost.

[tesla]

Plasma cannot exist without flowing electric currents. Magnetic field lines cannot exist without flowing electric currents. Really simple electrical theory. So, how does the Sun really work?

A plasma is nothing more than an ionized gas. It is conductive, but that doesn't mean that there must be currents flowing. As I've pointed out to you before (and which you've ignored), magnetic fields can clearly exist without flowing electric current- or do you imagine there is current flow in the magnet holding your shopping list to the refrigerator?

The Sun works by fusing hydrogen to helium. That is its energy source. The structure we see near the surface of the Sun is an interplay between conductive plasma and the powerful magnetic field of the Sun, which is produced by convective processes.

As I mentioned before, if the Sun is fusion, then why is the surface temp about five thousand degrees centigrade yet the chromosphere, which is a long way from thesurface, is around one million degrees centigrade? So, you are saying the sun works like a fridge magnet?

[Chris Peterson]

As I mentioned before, if the Sun is fusion, then why is the surface temp about five thousand degrees centigrade yet the chromosphere, which is a long way from thesurface, is around one million degrees centigrade? So, you are saying the sun works like a fridge magnet?

You should research what "temperature" actually means. Are you aware that the temperature up where the ISS orbits is several thousand degrees? But you'd freeze to death up there. You need to separate the concepts of "temperature" and "energy density".

[owlice]

tesla,

How does the sun really work? Kindly tell us, and please back up your assertions with links to or citations of peer-reviewed studies from scientific journals. That will be much more productive than your usual posting style. Also, I'd be interested to know what your background is, whether you have any credentials in this field or not. (Not that you need to, of course, so long as those you cite do.) I look forward to your answers; thank you in advance.

Owl

[tesla]

tesla,

How does the sun really work? Kindly tell us, and please back up your assertions with links to or citations of peer-reviewed studies from scientific journals. That will be much more productive than your usual posting style. Also, I'd be interested to know what your background is, whether you have any credentials in this field or not. (Not that you need to, of course, so long as those you cite do.) I look forward to your answers; thank you in advance.

Owl

Reply!
Hooter Girl; Credentials are irrelevant. This is not an ego trip. Chris; Even permanent magnets have electric currents at the sub atomic level. Ask any physicist.
NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY HOW THE SUN WORKS.
The fusion model appeared as a hypothesis in 1939. Quantum tunneling & Magnetic reconnection are but two theories that had to be invented as observations of the Sun did not support the current theory.
Here are some observations that call into question current Fusion theory
* temperature gradient is reversed. 5000k at surface. 2 million+ at corona
* The Umbra is 20% cooler. It also allows us to view the interior of the Sun. Black
* The Sun is a perfect sphere and not an oblate spheroid
* CME's blast particles faster than 400klm/sec. And they are still accelerating past the orbit of Earth
* Jan 2005. Particles from a CME blast reached Earth in 30 minutes. Light takes 8 minutes
* Surface temp. not hot enough to shine in X-Ray light
* SOHO photos in Fex11 light shows electrons being stripped from iron atoms. Surface temp. not hot enough
* Upper layers of Sun rotate faster than the lower layers
* SOHO has film of approaching comets causing CME's
* The Sun's torus
* The observed granular surface is more characteristic of an electric arc
* The Sun behaves more like an anode in a coronal glow discharge. Ask any competent electrical engineer.
Scientific knowledge is gained thru systematic observation & experiment. Look at Birkeland's Terrella experiments.
All I ask is for you to consider that the current model is severely lacking. There are other alternative theories. This is science, exploring the possibilities that there are other answers. If you are not looking at other possibilities, this is dogma.
Tesla

[Chris Peterson]

Chris; Even permanent magnets have electric currents at the sub atomic level. Ask any physicist.

I am a physicist, and I don't know what you mean by "electric currents at the sub atomic level".

NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY HOW THE SUN WORKS.

There are many questions that remain to be answered. But that the fundamental source of energy comes from the fusion of hydrogen to helium is without dispute. This is supported by a large number of different lines of evidence, and is contradicted by none. It is so certain, that simply stating you don't believe it pretty much marks you as a crackpot.

[biddie67]

Back when APOD was still linking into DIGG, I unknowingly stirred up an unpleasant discussion between the people that support gravitational fields as a dominant enforcer of our universe's properties and those that prefer the electrical/magnetic fields as the more important enforcer. I don't want to stir this up again but do want to make the observation that it seems that there are equally divergent opinions about fusion and E/M here. Please don't get started again just because I make another, quite uneducated non-credentialed comment here but I do find it interesting and wish that I could contribute something meaningful to the discussion.

On another (maybe ....) subject:

by Chris Peterson » Sun May 23, 2010 8:04 pm

You should research what "temperature" actually means. Are you aware that the temperature up where the ISS orbits is several thousand degrees? But you'd freeze to death up there. You need to separate the concepts of "temperature" and "energy density".

How could the temperature be so high and yet so deadly cold? I'm scared to ask but is this something that might be analogous to volts and amperage? How could the temperature be this high? I'm going to do a google search on "energy density" - I've never heard of this before.

[Chris Peterson]

How could the temperature be so high and yet so deadly cold?

Temperature is a measurement of the velocity of the particles in a medium. Particles in the thermosphere are very energetic, but they are also very sparse. So you will lose energy to radiation at a far greater rate than you will gain it convectively. In other words, you'll freeze to death in a 2500C medium.

[owlice]

tesla,

Thanks for responding.

Credentials are irrelevant.

I'm sorry, but I disagree. I specifically asked that you "back up your assertions with links to or citations of peer-reviewed studies from scientific journals." Anyone can say he has a theory, but not all theories are equal. This is a mainstream science site, so let's do things the mainstream science way.

You provided a list of bullet points without citations and asserted that these points "call into question current Fusion theory." You haven't demonstrated ... well, anything, actually. Make your case -- with citations, please. That's not even relegated to just science fields, you know; any student of any discipline has to be able to cite his/her sources. Thanks.

Owl