Plumes hovering along the perimeter of the sun are not flames, but rather massive amounts of gas, mostly hydrogen, held tens of thousands of miles high by powerful magnetic fields. The total distance from the left prominence margin to the right one is on the order of 250,000 miles; yes, nearly a quarter of a million miles! A blue circle representing the size of the earth is included on the upper left of the photo.
Imagine the forces that can hold billions of tons of material above the visible surface of the sun which has a far more powerful gravitational field than the earth. In fact it is 28 times the force on earth’s surface. If a 150-pound person somehow found themselves that close to the sun, they would weigh over two tons!
If this has your inner weight watcher screaming for mercy, just remember, near the surface of the sun it is so hot that the fat would burn away very quickly; along with the rest of you, of course.
#sun #prominence #magneticfields #gravitationalfield #hydrogen
Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings 