Astrophotographer Mark Johnston has captured two mesmerizing views of giant solar prominences — towering clouds of glowing plasma suspended above the sun by magnetic fields.The first video, captured on May 22, 2026, shows a remarkable prominence releasing streams of material that appear to fall back toward the sun as coronal rain. The second, filmed on May 31, 2026, reveals a 'Godzilla'-like prominence looming above the solar surface.Johnston explained that the flowing plasma may appear wind-swept, but the motion is largely controlled by the sun's magnetic field.
A still image from Johnston's 25-second timelapse, which represents about 2 hours of solar activity on May 31, 2026. (Image credit: Mark Johnston)"The movement you see may look like wind effects, but it's mostly caused by magnetic fields and, to a lesser extent, gravity. The hydrogen on the limb is ionized, so magnetic fields pull it along invisible field lines," Johnston told Space.com in an email.Johnston captured the footage from his backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona, using a 160mm refractor equipped with a specialized hydrogen-alpha solar filter."I try to image the Sun every clear morning, and I'm always looking for interesting features," Johnston told Space.com in an email.
