NCAR’s Coronal Multichannel Polarimeter (CoMP) found a new home early this year on Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, a high-elevation paradise for astronomical observers.

Solar scientists have long debated why the Sun's corona, or atmosphere, is millions of degrees hotter than its surface. Images retrieved by the Hinode satellite, launched in 2006, are shining some light on this paradox.

If the last few years have seen a so-called quiet Sun, its silence has spoken volumes. Researchers have taken advantage of a raft of new sensors and a special observing campaign to learn much about what happens when the sun temporarily powers down.

The solar minimum that bottomed out from 2006 to 2010 was the longest and deepest since modern space observations began. Among other effects, it reorganized the areas of flux from open magnetic field lines that produce solar wind.

The public is keenly interested in the Sun and its doings. “Sunspots” is one of the most frequent search terms bringing visitors to the NCAR/UCAR website.