We are pleased to announce that the winner of the ESPD Media of the Month contest for July is Jean-Marie Malherbe (LESIA, Observatoire de Paris), with the following historical image of a prominence:

Description: On May 27th-29th 1919, more than 101 years ago, a massive prominence could be observed above the solar limb by the Meudon Spectroheliograph in the H-alpha line. These historical images show the evolution of the structure of the prominence during several days. Prominence magnetized structures consist of plasma hundred times more dense than the surrounding coronal plasma. Prominences may persist in the corona for several weeks. Some prominences may erupt, their material being violently ejected towards the interplanetary medium. While nowadays multiple space and ground-based instruments are continuously monitoring the activity of the Sun, imaging of the solar active phenomena has been made routinely since the beginning of the 20th century. One of these early instruments is the Meudon spectroheliograph, which, since its invention by Henri Deslandres in 1892, has been and is still recording solar chromospheric filaments and prominences. Starting from 1909, the Meudon spectroheliogram collection is one of the most complete in the world. The systematic observation of the Sun is still an active public service of the Observatoire de Paris.

See full resolution image on Wikimedia Commons.