Nature of Prominences and their Role in Space Weather (IAU S300)

Solar prominences and filaments are large gaseous features extending outward hundreds of thousands of kilometres from the Sun's surface, which play an active role in space weather. Magnetic clouds and interplanetary coronal mass ejections associated with erupting prominences can produce severe perturbations in the Earth's near-space environment. IAU Symposium 300 presents a review of the state-of-the-art theoretical and numerical modelling of prominences and filaments, and their role in the dynamics of Sun-Earth relations. Observations from the latest international space-borne missions (Hinode, STEREO and SDO) and ground-based observatories are presented. The Symposium benefits not just newcomers to solar physics research but it shares the current status of our sophisticated solar analysis with the stellar community, now that huge prominences and CMEs have been detected in solar-type stars, and others, which will affect any exoplanets they host.