Description

Astronomers have recently identified miniature plasma loops within the Sun’s lower atmospheric layers. These loops, previously undetectable due to their fleeting nature and minuscule size, offer new insights into how the Sun stores and unleashes magnetic energy a question that has puzzled solar physicists for years. The discovery was made possible through the use of advanced telescopes and observations across various wavelengths.

Size And Location Of Mini Loops

These plasma loops stretch between 3,000 and 4,000 kilometres in length, but are remarkably thin, measuring under 100 kilometres wide. To put this in perspective, their length is comparable to the north-south span of India. They are located in the chromosphere, a layer just above the Sun’s visible surface. Due to their small scale and brief lifespan lasting only a few minutes they went unnoticed in earlier studies.

Advanced Instruments Behind Discovery

The identification of these loops was achieved by integrating data from several state-of-the-art instruments. These included the Goode Solar Telescope (GST) at Big Bear Solar Observatory, NASA’s IRIS (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph), and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). These tools provided observations in visible light, ultraviolet, and extreme-ultraviolet wavelengths, allowing scientists to study the solar atmosphere from the chromosphere up to the corona.

Magnetic Signatures And Loop Characteristics

These structures appear as luminous arcs in the H-alpha spectral line, which highlights activity in the chromosphere. Spectroscopic analysis showed widened spectral lines and strong signals, pointing to magnetic phenomena like reconnection—a process where distorted magnetic field lines snap and reconfigure, unleashing energy. Plasma jets observed erupting from the loops are believed to result from these reconnection events.

Extreme Temperatures And Plasma Behaviour

Using Differential Emission Measure (DEM) techniques, researchers estimated the plasma temperatures inside these loops to be in the range of several million degrees Celsius. This is unusually high for the chromosphere, which is generally cooler and denser. The loops' brightness in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths further indicates significant energy activity. Explaining the source of this intense heating remains a complex task for scientists.

Solar Research

Future missions and ground-based telescopes with better resolution and magnetic field sensitivity are expected to shed more light on these structures. India’s upcoming National Large Solar Telescope (NLST), planned near Pangong Lake in Ladakh, will feature a 2-metre aperture capable of capturing high-resolution images of the chromosphere. This could significantly improve our understanding of small-scale magnetic activity and energy dynamics on the Sun.

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