Check your subscription status, update your details and more. Tiny ‘solar flares’ recreated in the lab may explain corona mystery An experiment has produced nanoflares similar to those seen on the sun, and shown that they can help explain why the outer layers of the solar atmosphere are so hot Activity on the sun, as captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory With powerful lasers and a tiny piece of plastic, researchers have for the first time emulated a violent process that may take place on the sun. The experiment could help shed light on why the outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere is so mysteriously hot.
For decades, scientists have struggled to explain why the sun’s outer atmospheric layers – a region called the corona – are thousands of times hotter than the sun’s surface, reaching several millions of degrees. Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with _New Scientist_ events and special offers. #### Space ### Why the Drake equation is still important 65 years after its creation Comment #### Space ### Japan is launching a mission to Mars’s largest moon Phobos News #### Space ### Two large asteroids found spinning as fast as a fairground ride News #### Space ### Why gatekeeping is needed in the age of AI News The controversial legacy of a ‘male’ theory of autism### Cholesterol may disrupt the brain’s cleaning system in Alzheimer’s disease### We’re finally learning what happens to gifted children in adulthood### Terence Tao’s Six Maths Essentials opens his field to all of us### Parasite-infected mosquitoes released in Europe for first time### Are we about to solve the greatest mystery of the neutrino?### Archaeologists are uncovering the meaning of a unique rock art site### Earth entered its ‘bad decades’ after dinosaur-ending asteroid strike### Why the Drake equation is still important 65 years after its creation### A single antimatter particle was held in a trap for months We and our partners use cookies and other technologies to collect user data .
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