NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spots extra energy in the sun's corona
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 20:30
in Astronomy & Space
Like giant strands of seaweed some 32,000 miles high, material shooting up from the sun sways back and forth with the atmosphere. In the sun's corona, magnetic field ripples called Alfvén waves cause the swaying. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is now able to track the movements of this solar "seaweed" and measure how much energy is carried by the Alfvén waves.