Taken yesterday from the SOHO spacecraft, this false-color image shows the active Sun near the March Equinox, the
beginning of Autumn in the south and Spring in the northern hemisphere. Recorded in a band of extreme ultraviolet light
emitted by highly ionized iron atoms, the Sun's upper atmosphere or solar corona shines with an array of active regions
and plasma loops suspended in magnetic fields. The bright coronal structures and loops seen here have temperatures of
about 1.5 million kelvins. By chance, the Sun's earth-facing side also seems to be marked with a twisting complex of
dark filament channels shaped like a giant "S". Filaments represent relatively (!) cool material in the corona which
show up as prominences when seen at the Sun's edge. For planet Earth, recent solar activity has made auroral displays
likely around this year's March Equinox.