{
  "id": 19341673,
  "title": "Tiny Solar Whirlpools May Hold the Secret to the Sun’s Blistering Corona",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/10/tiny-solar-whirlpools-may-hold-the-secret-to-the-suns-blistering",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-10T14:07:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Universe Today",
    "slug": "universe-today",
    "url": "https://www.universetoday.com/articles/tiny-solar-whirlpools-may-hold-the-secret-to-the-suns-blistering-corona"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new paper by Katariina Nykyri, an Embry-Riddle researcher, proposes that millions of tiny whirlpools, or Photospheric Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) vortices, scattered across the Sun's surface could be responsible for heating the corona. These miniature tornadoes, which are a few dozen kilometers across, were first spotted by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on Maui in August. Nykyri's research focused on Kelvin-Helmholtz waves, common on Earth and other celestial bodies, but particularly significant on the Sun where fast-moving plasma passes slower, magnetized plasma. The vortices' kinetic energy is believed to transfer into the Sun's magnetic fields, converting mechanical energy into magnetic stress. Each vortex contains about two septillion ergs of energy, and millions of these whirlpools spin up and dissipate every few minutes across the Sun's 1.4-million-kilometer surface. When they dissipate, their energy is thought to enter the corona through magnetic reconnection. This process, in which magnetic field lines are squeezed together and then violently snap, converts magnetic energy into heat and high-speed plasma jets, contributing to the Sun's corona. Although only 5-8% of the mechanical energy stored in the vortices need to make their way up to the corona to replenish the heat lost, Nykyri's findings suggest that these tiny plasma tornadoes could be the primary drivers behind the Sun's blistering corona.",
  "summary": "For the second time in a few weeks, we’re writing about research into the temperature gap between the Sun’s surface and its corona. More and more data from various missions continue to feed this wave of discovery. A new paper by Katariina Nykyri of Embry-Riddle, recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, adds to this growing body of work. She argues that millions of tiny whirlpools…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}