Image taken from the NTU telescope

Hα-solar imaging of the evolution of a prominence

These three images of the Sun were taken with the solar scope on 12 May 2008. The images show the rapid evolution of features on the sun, called prominences. A prominence is where the Sun throws material off into space.

The left image marks the location of the prominences, and the two images on the right show how much the material moves in just one hour! 

These images show the typical evolution of a prominence, however some can be as large as the Earth.

Far more active regions of the Sun, which can evolve within minutes, do exist; these are called flares.