" Earth's Sun: Facts About the Sun's Age, Size and History.". Temperatures in the corona the tenuous, outermost layer of the solar atmosphere spike upwards of 2 million degrees Fahrenheit, while just 1,000 miles below, the underlying surface simmers at a balmy 10,000 F. In defiance of all logic, its atmosphere gets much, much hotter the farther it stretches from the Sun’s blazing surface. Something mysterious is going on at the Sun. " Solar Dynamics Observatory." NASA: Experience The Solar Eclipse Across America 2017. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and the Curious Case of the Hot Corona. ![]() One hope from observing and understanding the corona during the solar eclipse is that scientists will gain a better understanding of the differences in temperature between the sun's atmosphere (those four outer layers described above) and its surface. Scientists will use data from SDO in conjunction with Earth-based images to create a much larger picture. Generally, the observatory is taking images of the sun in many different wavelengths (like X-Rays), but during the eclipse its focus will be the corona. SDO, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, will be monitoring the corona during that solar eclipse. In a recent article about the upcoming August 21st solar eclipse, an important fact is included: "Amazingly, even by 2017 there is no available technology to map t he magnetic field in the corona at resolutions comparable to those details seen during a total solar eclipse!" NASA And Total Solar EclipsesĪ viewer (don't forget to have proper eyewear!) observing the solar eclipse in the line of totality will see the sun's photosphere blocked out by the moon's umbra.įor NASA, total solar eclipses give their scientists a chance to observe the corona. And when it's at a minimum number of sun spots, the corona looks like more of a sphere.īecause of the light emitted from the sun's photosphere, without help from a coronagraph, the corona is only visible by sight from Earth during a total solar eclipse. At what's considered sunspot maximum, the corona appears more like a circle. One of the most interesting things about the sun's corona is that its shape frequently changes. Its outer layers are the photosphere, corona, chromosphere, and the transition region. Remember, the sun has multiple outer and inner layers. ![]() ![]() This might feel counterintuitive, but the sun's outermost layer, its corona, is still a mystery in many ways. You can also find out more out about our solar eclipse coverage on Twitter. As we look forward to the August 21st solar eclipse, the A Moment of Science blog has run other articles about solar eclipses.
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