Something Strange Is Happening on the Sun, and We’ve Never Seen It Before

This past week, a part of the sun’s surface broke off and started circling the sun’s north pole almost as if it were a giant polar vortex––and scientists don’t know why.

Space weather forecaster Tamitha Skov posted a video of the phenomena to Twitter, sharing her excitement.

“Talk about Polar Vortex! Material from a northern prominence just broke away from the main filament & is now circulating in a massive polar vortex around the north pole of our Star,” she wrote. “Implications for understanding the Sun’s atmospheric dynamics above 55° here cannot be overstated!”

Talk about Polar Vortex! Material from a northern prominence just broke away from the main filament & is now circulating in a massive polar vortex around the north pole of our Star. Implications for understanding the Sun's atmospheric dynamics above 55° here cannot be overstated! pic.twitter.com/1SKhunaXvP

— Dr. Tamitha Skov (@TamithaSkov) February 2, 2023

The find is just the latest in a series of interesting space observations thanks to the capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope. According to NASA, solar prominence is a large bright feature that extends outward from the Sun’s surface. Prominences consist of hydrogen and helium, and usually erupt when a structure becomes unstable and bursts outward, releasing the plasma…