Coils of Magnetic Field Lines

A smallish solar filament looks like it collapsed into the sun and set off a minor eruption that hurled plasma into space (June 20, 2017). Then, the disrupted magnetic field immediately began to reorganize itself, hence the bright series of spirals coiling up over that area. The magnetic field lines are made visible in extreme ultraviolet light as charged particles spin along them. Also of interest are the darker, cooler strands of plasma being pulled and twisted at the edge of the sun just below the active region. The activity here is in a 21-hour period.

Movies are available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21764