These strange swirls on the sun looked like colorful brush strokes at my first glance. They are actually spicules, which are defined as rapidly moving jets of plasma (superheated gas). Taken last month, this photo happens to be the the highest resolution photo of spicules that we have and has spurred substantial scientific study since little was initially known about spicules from their discovery in 1877 to recent times. Observation and study of spicules is made difficult by the fact that they move at 50,000 kilometers per hour and quickly disappear after 5 minutes, afterward regenerating another spicule from the same spot. It is estimated that about 10,000 spicules are active on the Sun's corona at any particular time. Their cycle is caused by when some some of the sound waves, which are mostly trapped on the Sun, escape and create shock waves that push matter forwards in the form of a spicule. The current mystery posed by spicules to scientists is whether or not they contribute to solar wind, because it is possible that spicules provide some of the necessary mass to generate it.
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