GIANT PROMINENCE: The biggest thing on the sun today is not a sunspot. While most sunspots are about the size of Earth, this enormous prominence measures dwarfs our planet:
A "hedgerow prominence" is a massive cloud of plasma held aloft by solar magnetic fields. NASA and Japanese space telescopes have taken high resolution images of similar prominences and seen some amazing things such as (1) tadpole-shaped plumes that float up from the base of the prominence; (2) narrow streams of plasma that descend from the top like waterfalls; and (3) swirls and vortices that resemble van Gogh's Starry Night.