{"id":229539,"date":"2026-02-17T12:40:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=229539"},"modified":"2026-02-18T09:02:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T19:02:40","slug":"eclipse-research-suns-corona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/02\/17\/eclipse-research-suns-corona\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> eclipse research finds turbulent times in the Sun\u2019s corona"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Colorful
A solar prominence erupting on June 7, 2011, captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. (Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Researchers at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> have uncovered new clues about how energy moves through the Sun\u2019s outer atmosphere, using one of nature\u2019s rarest events as their window: total solar eclipses.<\/p>\n

Drawing on more than a decade of eclipse observations, a team led by Shadia Habbal at the Institute for Astronomy<\/a> has, for the first time, clearly identified turbulent structures in the Sun\u2019s corona and shown that they can survive far from the solar surface. The findings help explain how the solar wind forms and evolves as it streams through the solar system. The study was published in Astrophysical Journal<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

“This work helps us understand how the Sun transfers energy into space,” said Habbal. “That process ultimately affects space weather, which can disrupt satellites, communications and power systems on Earth. Understanding where this turbulence comes from is key to predicting those impacts.”<\/p>\n

Eclipse view<\/h2>\n

During a total solar eclipse, the Moon briefly blocks the Sun\u2019s bright disk, allowing astronomers to observe the faint corona in exceptional detail. These moments reveal delicate, thread-like structures shaped by magnetic fields rising from below the Sun\u2019s visible surface. High-resolution eclipse images show a corona that is far more dynamic than it appears in everyday solar observations.<\/p>\n

\"Collage
Images of the Sun captured during the December 2021 total eclipse.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Within these structures, the team identified clear signs of turbulence. Some features form vortex rings that resemble smoke rings, while others show rolling, wave-like motions similar to those seen in Earth\u2019s clouds. By comparing eclipse data collected over nearly 12 years, spanning a full solar cycle, the researchers traced the origin of this activity to what are called prominences\u2014large, looping structures rooted on the Sun.<\/p>\n

Prominences are dramatically cooler and denser than the million-degree plasma surrounding them. Where these contrasting regions meet, sharp changes in temperature and density create unstable conditions that trigger turbulent motion.<\/p>\n

“For the first time, we were able to watch these turbulent structures form near the Sun and then follow them as they flowed outward with the solar wind,” Habbal said. “Seeing the same features later in space-based images tells us they remain intact over enormous distances.”<\/p>\n

The study reveals the origin and evolution of turbulence in the corona, a process long linked to coronal heating and the acceleration of the solar wind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Institute for Astronomy researchers uncovered new clues about how energy moves through the Sun\u2019s outer atmosphere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":229538,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[34,35,1467,1363,158,9],"class_list":["post-229539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-astronomy","tag-institute-for-astronomy","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-publication","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/manoa-ifa-eclipse-research-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229539"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229645,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229539\/revisions\/229645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}