Cascading Loops

The appearance of a pair of active regions was preceded by distinctive profiles of their cascades of magnetic loops rising above them (Sept. 17-19, 2012). These bright, spiraling loops are particles spinning along magnetic field lines that have emerged from beneath the Sun's surface. The images were taken in the 171 Angstrom wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light usually tinted a golden color, but for effect, they were colorized red. The video clip covers just over two days of activity.

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