On a peculiar type of prominence activation

Abstract

We describe time-lapse H-alpha observations of a peculiar type of prominence activation of 1981 October 7 and and its morphological behaviour. The prominence material seems to have originated from the photosphere as a huge twisted rope-like structure. It reached a height of ~ 10/sup5/ km, and later on split into braided closed loop-like features, which remained stable for a few minutes before breaking up at the top of the loop and finally fading out. The splitting of the twisted rope-like structure is explained on the basis of screw-type instability in current-carrying plasma column.