"He is beautiful and radiant with great splendor ... " St. Francis, from
Cantico del sole Two decades have elapsed since the publication of Solar
Prominences, 20 years that have seen a nearly phenomenal increase in the
interest, as well as the infor- mation, concerning these fascinating and
beautiful manifestations of solar ac- tivity. During this period many
meetings have been held, and several books and proceedings have been
published, all dealing with specific aspects of solar prominences.
However, no unifying and comprehensive accord has appeared. Recently
some of my colleagues suggested that the time was ripe for a new
addition of Solar Prominences, and Kluwer Academic Publishers wanted to
pub- lish such a book. I, therefore, venture to present this monograph
in the hope of kindling the interest of some graduate students in the
study of this-probably the most spectacular and often the most beautiful
of solar activity manifestation. However, since it is the physical
processes behind these events that will particu- larly interest us, I
also hope the book may be of help to some of my colleagues. In a rapidly
developing field of science it is difficult, if not impossible, to
present an overview that is up to date in every respect. I have made
nearly every effort to include the latest contributions in the broad
area of prominence research, but I am sure I have overlooked some
important investigations. For these oversights, I apologize.