Astronomers and scientists have learned a lot about the cosmos. All thanks to many technological advancements. In the latest shocking video, NASA has captured an unprecedented event that has baffled scientists where a portion of the sun’s northern pole “breaks off.” 

An enormous filament of electrified gas can be seen rushing out from the sun in the popular video before breaking and spinning around in a massive polar vortex. Although solar filaments have been observed before, this is the first time one has been observed spinning through the area. Why the filament in the new sighting swirled around the sun as opposed to flying off into space is still a mystery to scientists. 

Although surprised, astronomers think that the emergence is connected to the sun’s magnetic field’s regular reversal.

A video was shared on Twitter by space weather specialist Tamitha Skov, who gave credit for its capture to NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Tamitha wrote, “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!” 

This most recent development is of more worry to scientists since the Sun continues to produce solar flares, also known as prominences, which can occasionally obstruct communication on Earth. According to NASA, solar filaments are energetic particle clouds that float above the sun and are magnetically bonded together. These resemble long, suspended threads dangling from the sun’s surface.

A prominence like the one shared by Skov may be observed precisely at latitude 55 once every 11 years. The National Center for Atmospheric Research’s deputy director and solar physicist Scott McIntosh told Space.com, “Once every solar cycle, it forms at the 55-degree latitude and it starts to march up to the solar poles. It’s very curious. There is a big ‘why’ question around it. Why does it only move toward the pole one time and then disappears and then comes back, magically, three or four years later in exactly the same region?”

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