Fact Sheet
Hot Loops
Fountains of gas hundreds of thousands of miles high form giant loops above the surface of the Sun in this recent image from the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) spacecraft. Gas in these loops can reach temperatures of several million degrees Fahrenheit. The hot gas heats the Sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona, to more than one million degrees. The Sun's surface, on the other hand, glows at a relatively chilly 10,000 degrees F.
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