Solar Loops: Tackling a 40-Year-Old MysteryNational Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
4:00 p.m. Discovery Station (in front of Welcome Center) 5:15 p.m. Lecture in the Albert Einstein Planetarium 6:30 p.m. Telescope observing at Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory, weather permitting
The loops that cover the Sun’s outer atmosphere have been studied for over 40 years, but their basic properties remain unknown. Learn about the attempts to unravel these mysteries.
Smithsonian's Stars lectures are suitable for ages 13 and up.
The Smithsonian’s Stars Lecture Series is made possible by a grant from NASA.
The upper one of a pair of new, solar active regions that just rotated into view of SDO offered a beautiful profile view of cascading loops spiraling above it (Jan. 15-16, 2012) following a solar flare eruption. These loop structures are made of superheated plasma, just one of which is the size of several Earths. With its ability to capture the Sun in amazing detail, SDO observed it all in extreme ultraviolet light. This particular video clip used an image every five minutes to present the motion. Note all of the other spurts and minor bursts from both regions during almost two days.
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