Photo: Sun's Mysterious Waves Found; May Be Solar Wind Source

Email to a Friend << Back to Full Story


A large plume of gas known as a prominence shoots hundreds of thousands of miles out from the sun's surface at about six miles (ten kilometers) a second in this image from the Hinode spacecraft.

Images like these taken by the Japanese-led mission have definitively revealed mysterious magnetic waves that could be the source of solar wind, a suite of new studies reports.

Image © Science

EMAIL NEWSLETTER Photos and News of the Week

Get the top photos and news of the week from National Geographic News, plus occasional breaking-news alerts.

See Sample >>
Please enter a valid email address
Privacy Policy

MOST VIEWED NEWS

Hurricane Gustav to Become Gulf Coast Monster?

Ancient Amazon Cities Found; Were Vast Urban Network

Hurricane Gustav: Complete Coverage
NEWS FEEDS    After installing a news reader, click on this icon to download National Geographic News's XML/RSS feed. After installing a news reader, click on this icon to download National Geographic News's XML/RSS feed.

Get our news delivered directly to your desktop—free.
How to Use XML or RSS

ADVERTISEMENT

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S PHOTO OF THE DAY

Today's National Geographic Photo of the Day

• Today's Photo

• Download as Wallpaper

Photo and Headline Widget

Put our latest news and photos on your Web page or desktop—automatically updates! See Sample
Download Widget