This image shows glowing plasma in the Sun's corona, our star's extremely hot upper atmosphere. The plasma, which is like a magnetized gas, flows along curving magnetic field lines. The "coronal loops" in this view indicate that this is an active region on the Sun where powerful magnetic fields might spawn solar flares or coronal mass ejections (CMEs). These loops span a distance roughly equal to 30 times the diameter of Earth. The Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) satellite captured this shot on November 6, 1999. The image is not of visible light; instead it is from the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum at a wavelength of 171 Å. This part of the UV spectrum lets us see features in the Sun's atmosphere that have temperatures around 1 million Kelvins.
Image courtesy TRACE/NASA.

This picture shows a part of the Sun's atmosphere called the corona. The corona is very, very hot - about 1 million degrees! Glowing plasma, which is like magnetized gas, sometimes forms loops in the corona. Magnetic fields around sunspots make these loops. They are called coronal loops. The loops are huge - about 30 Earths would fit across them! A satellite named TRACE took this picture in November 1999.
Image courtesy TRACE/NASA.

This picture shows glowing loops in the atmosphere of the Sun. The loops are called "coronal loops" be cause they are in the Sun's corona. The corona is part of the Sun's atmosphere. The corona is very, very hot - around a million degrees! The loops are made of glowing plasma, which is like a magnetized gas. Magnetic fields from the Sun form the plasma into curving loops. A satellite named TRACE took this picture in 1999.
Image courtesy TRACE/NASA.

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