A powerful solar telescope in Hawaii captured unprecedented close-up images of the Sun showing enormous plasma currents and stacked eruptions [1, 2].
These images provide critical new data on solar wind and the heating of the corona. Understanding these mechanisms is essential for scientists to resolve why the Sun's outer atmosphere is significantly hotter than its visible surface [1, 2].
Operated by NASA scientists, the Hawaii-based telescope revealed plasma temperatures of approximately 10,000 °F [1]. The imagery allows researchers to observe the behavior of the corona, which reaches temperatures of millions of degrees relative to the Sun's surface [1].
The data focuses on the long-standing mystery of coronal heating. While the visible surface of the Sun is cooler, the corona exhibits extreme heat that defies simple explanation, a phenomenon these new images aim to clarify [1, 2].
By documenting the movement of plasma and the structure of solar eruptions, the team hopes to better understand space weather. The images, released by NASA in June 2024 [2], highlight the complex interaction of magnetic fields, and thermal energy in the solar atmosphere [1, 2].
Scientists are now analyzing the stacked eruptions to determine how energy is transported from the interior of the Sun to the outer atmosphere [1]. This research could lead to more accurate predictions of solar storms that affect communication systems on Earth [2].
“The corona reaches temperatures of millions of degrees relative to the Sun’s surface.”
The ability to visualize plasma currents at this level of detail allows NASA to test theories regarding coronal heating. If scientists can determine how the corona maintains temperatures millions of degrees hotter than the surface, it will improve the modeling of solar wind and the ability to predict geomagnetic storms that threaten global satellite and power infrastructure.
