News Astronomy

Some of the sun’s iconic coronal loops may be illusions

Wrinkles in the solar atmosphere might trick the eye into seeing the well-defined arches

coronal loops, strands of plasma looping around the sun

Some coronal loops (pictured) on the sun may not be single strands of plasma but rather optical illusions caused by “wrinkles” in the solar atmosphere, a new study suggests.

Solar Dynamics Observatory/GSFC/NASA

By Allison Gasparini

- More than 2 years ago

Coronal loops, well-defined hot strands of plasma that arch out into the sun’s atmosphere, are iconic to the sun’s imagery.