A huge solar tornado observed by Solar Dynamic Observatory

Abstract

Reports of rotational or tornado-like behaviour of solar prominences and/or their associated cavities have been made for almost a century. These include ground-based observations of rotational eddies within prominences [5,3], spectroscopic evidence of filament rotation [4], tornado-like jets within prominences, and rotation of prominence cavities [8]. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) provides the necessary temporal and spatial resolution, and long-term systematic full-disk observations to view and interpret such events in detail