Stunning Loops of Plasma Observed on The Sun May Not Be What We Thought

[Judi Lynn]

Coronal loops imaged by the Transition Region And Coronal Explorer spacecraft. (NASA)

SPACE
MICHELLE STARR3 MARCH 2022

A well-studied solar phenomenon may not be quite as simple as we we thought it was.

New simulations suggest that what we thought were loops of plasma known as coronal loops erupting out from the surface of the Sun along magnetic field lines may, at least sometimes, be wrinkles in corrugated sheets of plasma.

Astronomers have dubbed this phenomenon the "coronal veil", and suggest that further research is needed to try to understand how and why they occur.

The finding is, they say, significant. Since coronal loops were first identified clearly in the 1960s, solar scientists have been using them to understand the properties of the Sun, including its magnetic field, and the density and temperature of the solar atmosphere.

"I have spent my entire career studying coronal loops," says astrophysicist Anna Malanushenko of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "I never expected this. When I saw the results, my mind exploded."




More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/we-thought-we-understood-plasma-loops-on-the-sun-we-might-be-wrong