Tornadoes are pretty fascinating. But a tornado on the sun? Even more so (and a lot less dangerous).
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory — a satellite keeping an eye on the sun — captured a tornado of plasma as it danced on the surface of the sun.
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And the tornado was big — more than two Earth’s could fit inside the swirling gases.
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Plasma on the sun isn’t the same as the plasma in our blood (thankfully). Instead it’s ionized gas and very hot (think millions of degrees Celsius).
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This little solar tornado (little when you see it on the surface of the sun) didn’t go anywhere. In fact, it succumbed to the gravity of the sun and collapsed.
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