New Images Of The Sun Might Provide Clues As To Why Its Crown Is So Hot

The Sun hangs above us each day, giving us light, warmth, and Vitamin C. Yet, it remains a mystery to Earth’s population.
 
The hot star’s incredible heat has kept all visitors, and wandering eyes, at bay, but scientists are still determined to take a closer peek and understand why it—and particularly its corona, or crown—reaches such temperatures.
 
The corona is the Sun’s outer atmosphere that stands at temperatures over a million degrees, which is way hotter than what lies beneath.
 
A new series of images of the star may help researchers delve deeper into why. The photos, released by NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuStar), portray different wavelengths of the Sun. There are three layers to these images—in green, red, and blue.

The blue spots on the pictures are possibly caused by the immense heat radiating from the star. Found mostly around its edges, they might be what is elevating the temperature to such high levels.

The blue bits represent nanoflares, which are smaller versions of eruptions that take place on the Sun’s body, regularly producing hotter material. So if the nano flares are happening often enough, it might be what is contributing to the atmosphere’s heat.
 
Lower energy X-ray data from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hinode mission’s X-ray Telescope (XRT) are represented by the green portions of the image. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) of another NASA mission, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, observed ultraviolet light in the red regions.
 
With the Sun nearing the busiest time in its 11-year cycle, there are bound to be more stellar discoveries and events happening on our local star.
 
 
 
[via Inverse and NASA, images via NASA/JPL-Caltech/JAXA]