The Reversal of a Solar Prominence Rotation about Its Ascending Direction during a Failed Eruption

Abstract

Abstract The magnetic orientation of solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) near the Earth’s magnetosphere is one major parameter that influences the geoeffectiveness of CMEs. The orientation often varies during the eruption and propagation from the Sun to the Earth due to the deflection and/or rotation of CMEs. It is common to observe the counterclockwise (CCW) or clockwise (CW) rotation (viewed from above) of solar prominences in the corona, which can be used to predict the space weather effect of associated CMEs. In this Letter, we report an intriguing failed prominence eruption that occurred on 2010 December 10, exhibiting the CCW and CW rotations sequentially in the corona. The eruption is recorded by both the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager on board the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory. This stereoscopic combination allows us to reconstruct the three-dimensional structure and identify the rotation reversal without ambiguity. The prominence first rotates CCW about its ascending direction by ∼135° in ∼26 minutes and then reverses to the CW rotation by ∼45° in ∼15 minutes; i.e., the average CCW and CW rotation speeds are ∼5.2 and ∼3.0 deg minute−1, respectively. The possible mechanisms leading to the rotation and reversal are discussed. The kinematics of the prominence is also analyzed, which indicates that an upward force acts on the prominence during the entire process.