Sara F. Martin (Helio Research, California, USA): Illusive Properties and Dynamics of Solar Prominences

We are all familiar with how we can sometimes see an impact crater as a dome rather than a depression or the famous Escher drawings of impossible objects. Such illusions are fun because we know our eye-mind connection is causing us to see something that is not real. But, what if we did not know the true shape of a distant object, such as seeing a prominence on the Sun for the first time? Could it be assumed to have one topology but really have another? Can eye-mind illusions creep into science? We examine a number of assumptions that have been made about the topology, the dynamics and the physics of solar prominences. We contrast these assumptions with recent observations and analyses of that allow us to see and deduce some of their three dimensional properties of prominences before and during their eruption. We conclude that prominences have been amazingly successful in visually eluding us from seeing their true nature.