"2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Observing Solar Prominences and Flares"

During the recent solar eclipse, the bright red spots observed were solar prominences, which are large loops of plasma anchored to the Sun's surface. These prominences, visible during eclipses, are akin to clouds in Earth's atmosphere but made of hot gas trapped by magnetic fields. The red color is due to fluorescing hydrogen gas. Additionally, the eclipse may have featured a "post eruptive solar prominence," likely the location of a solar flare. Solar flares are intense bursts of radiation near sunspots, while coronal mass ejections are large clouds of solar plasma and magnetic fields that move at different speeds. Community science groups across the U.S. collaborated to capture video clips of the eclipse for a National Science Foundation project.