The Sun · Stars
Coronal
Say it: KOR-uh-nul IPA: /ˈkɔrənəl/ adjective
Also said kuh-ROH-nul (kəˈroʊnəl).
Coronal: Belonging to the corona, the thin, very hot outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star.
The corona is usually lost in the glare of the Sun's bright surface. It shows as a pale crown during a total solar eclipse, or in a coronagraph, and its loops and streamers trace the Sun's magnetic field.
- Example
- A coronal mass ejection can send a cloud of magnetized gas out across the solar system.
- Why astronomers use it
- Coronal mass ejections, clouds of plasma and magnetic field thrown out of the corona, can set off geomagnetic storms when they reach Earth.
- Tiny cosmic connection
- The corona reaches about 2 million °C, far hotter than the surface below it at about 5,500 °C.
Observatory The Sun Stars
Where to check it
- NOAA: Coronal mass ejections (opens in a new tab)
- NASA: Sun facts (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia: Stellar corona (opens in a new tab)
- Wiktionary: coronal (opens in a new tab)
Written for Cool Moon Facts in its own words; the sources cover the same idea in more depth.