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How do solar prominences stay suspended above the Sun’s surface?

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Sun Joshua trees at sunset, Joshua Tree National Park, southern California, U.S.

Solar prominences are suspended above the Sun’s surface by magnetic fields rather than by thermal currents.1

The plasma that makes up the solar atmosphere consists of ions and electrons that are unable to cross magnetic field lines in regions where those fields are horizontal. Consequently, this material is supported against gravity at the boundaries between opposing magnetic polarities, where the field lines reverse direction. These horizontal magnetic field configurations act as a structural support, allowing the dense, incandescent gas to remain suspended as two-dimensional sheets.12