Solar Orbiter’s close-up images of the Sun during its perihelion passage in October 2022 have shed light on the mysterious process by which the solar corona reaches temperatures of a million °C when the surface is only around 6000 °C. These new images reveal that loops of million-degree gas, which make up the corona, are associated with fleeting magnetic field patches on the solar surface. The observations show a correlation between the small patches of magnetic fields and the coronal loops, suggesting that these small-scale magnetic fields play a role in the formation of the corona. Solar Orbiter will continue to provide valuable insights into the Sun’s atmosphere during its upcoming close pass in October 2023.
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/10/Small-scale_magnetism_leads_to_large-scale_solar_atmosphere