Spotting ultrafine loops in the Sun's corona
A key to understanding the dynamics of the sun and what causes the great solar explosions there relies on deciphering how material, heat and energy swirl across the sun's surface and rise into the upper atmosphere, or corona. Tracking the constantly moving material requires state-of-the-art telescopes with the highest resolution possible. By combining images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and a new generation telescope called the New Solar Telescope (NST) at Big Bear Solar Observatory in Big Bear City, Calif. scientists have for the first time observed a new facet of the system: especially narrow loops of solar material scattered on the sun's surface, which are connected to higher lying, wider loops. These ultrafine loops, and their wider cousins may also help with the quest to determine how temperatures rise throughout the corona.