The article "The sun also writhes" (SN: 3/27/99, p. 200) says that I believe data collected from an erupting solar plasma ejected into space have shown that prominences within it remain at their typical temperatures. To the contrary, I believe the data show that prominence material typically gets ionized to coronal temperatures as it passes out through the corona into the solar wind, although exceptional cases to the contrary occasionally occur.

Jack Gosling
Los Alamos, N.M.

In "Good and bad news for migrating monarchs" (SN: 1/2/99, p. 5), Orley Taylor suggests that the survival of monarch butterflies is under imminent threat because their primary food, milkweed, may soon be "wiped out" due to herbicide-resistant, bioengineered crops. Please! Milkweed has already been largely "wiped out" on cropland, yet it is a prolific and resilient plant. I, too, share your concern for conservation of our nation's biodiversity, but blatant fearmongering only serves to undercut legitimate conservation concerns.

Alex Avery
Churchville, Va.