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ENORMOUS PROMINENCE, POISED TO ERUPT Around the world, astronomers are monitoring a prominence of jaw-dropping proportions hovering over the sun's southeastern limb. It is located in the lower left corner of this picture, taken by Jim Fakatselis of Huntington, NY. Earth, inserted for comparison in the upper right, is a veritable speck! "I was really floored by the massive size of the prominence," says Larry Alvarez of Flower Mound, TX, who also photographed the structure. "It looked like a giant smoke stack billowing out solar material." Fakatselis made a two hour video, which captures the smoky motions of plasma trapped inside the prominence's magnetic wall, (I can't find the video!). Prominences like this one are highly unstable. Astronomers with backyard solar telescopes should train their optics on the sun's southeastern limb. An eruption may be imminent. ALWAYS PROTECT YOUR EYES WHEN VIEWING OUR STAR!! . 
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