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Credit & Copyright: TRACE Project,
NASA
Explanation:
Discovered in recent close-up pictures of the Sun from NASA's
Transition Region
And Coronal Explorer (TRACE) spacecraft,
this spongy-looking stuff has a temperature of 2 million
degrees Fahrenheit ... and has been dubbed "Solar Moss".
The false-color TRACE image above was recorded in extreme ultraviolet light
on October 18.
It shows the solar moss associated with
hot magnetic plasma
loops arching above one of
the Sun's active regions.
The moss is the dark blue and white fluff that seems to cover
areas between the bright white bases of the loops.
Solar moss has been seen to spread, typically persisting for
tens of hours, and may form rapidly following a solar flare.
Solar moss isn't found growing only on the Sun's north side,
but as a rule seems to lie above
the photosphere or visible surface,
in the
transition region of
the solar atmosphere.
Complex and previously unknown, this feature may provide a clue
to the
long sought mystery mechanism responsible for
heating the Sun's outer atmosphere.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Sun - active region - solar moss
Publications with words: Sun - active region - solar moss
See also:
- APOD: 2024 September 2 Á A Triangular Prominence Hovers Over the Sun
- APOD: 2024 August 18 Á A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO
- APOD: 2024 August 4 Á Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
- APOD: 2024 July 28 Á Sun Dance
- Prominences and Filaments on the Active Sun
- APOD: 2024 May 28 Á Solar X Flare as Famous Active Region Returns
- APOD: 2024 May 26 Á A Solar Filament Erupts