Observed only during solar flares, these unexplained shadows of falling
material in the Sun’s atmosphere may have a plausible explanation.
These shadowy filaments, first observed in 1999 and dubbed
“downward-traveling dark voids,” were once assumed to be linked to the
magnetic field interactions that set off solar explosions. In recent years,
however, researchers in solar physics have shown that this is not the case
and that these “supra-arcade downflows” are actually the result of fluid
interactions in the solar plasma.
material in the Sun’s atmosphere may have a plausible explanation.
These shadowy filaments, first observed in 1999 and dubbed
“downward-traveling dark voids,” were once assumed to be linked to the
magnetic field interactions that set off solar explosions. In recent years,
however, researchers in solar physics have shown that this is not the case
and that these “supra-arcade downflows” are actually the result of fluid
interactions in the solar plasma.
