“A new solar observatory is revealing remarkably fine details about a little-explored region of the sun’s atmosphere, where temperatures leap from tens of thousands of degrees Fahrenheit at the sun’s surface to to millions of degrees in its extended atmosphere. Dubbed the interface region by the observatory’s science team, this first 2,000 to 3,000 miles of the sun’s atmosphere is thought to play a key role in a range of processes, including those that power solar flares and even more potent coronal-mass ejections. These events can endanger satellites, disrupt radio communication and GPS navigation, as well as disrupt the power grid on Earth.”
