Sunrise-III Balloon Telescope Uncovers Solar Magnetic Web
High-altitude observations reveal twisted magnetic threads extending into the quiet chromosphere of the Sun
By Letizia Giugliano
2 min readHuman-Edited, AI-Assisted
An international team led by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan has uncovered an intricate network of magnetic structures above calm solar regions. Carried into the stratosphere aboard the Sunrise-III balloon observatory in 2024, specialized instruments mapped previously unseen magnetic threads, offering fresh clues about how energy travels upward to heat the solar atmosphere.
Mapping a hidden magnetic canopy
Even in areas where sunspots are absent, the Sun harbors active magnetic structures that shape its environment in space. Researchers analyzing data from the Sunrise-III solar observatory identified a web of narrow, thread-like magnetic fields across quiet solar zones, according to reporting by ScienceDaily. These features form part of the magnetic canopy, an atmospheric layer that develops as field lines concentrated at the visible surface, or photosphere, arch upward into the chromosphere.
Rather than expanding as a uniform, smooth structure, the canopy contains dense groupings of elongated threads. Numerical simulations developed to reproduce the observational data indicate that twisting motions occurring directly on the solar surface distort the magnetic lines, weaving the fine web observed at higher altitudes.
Observing from thirty-five kilometers above Earth
Ground-based observatories struggle to resolve these subtle chromospheric structures because atmospheric turbulence blurs fine optical details. To overcome this hurdle, the Sunrise-III project deployed a 1-meter solar telescope suspended beneath a balloon that ascended approximately 35 kilometers into Earth's stratosphere in 2024, as documented by ScienceDaily.
The observatory’s gondola integrated three dedicated instruments, highlighting technical innovation in high-altitude heliophysics. Among them, the Sunrise Chromospheric Infrared spectroPolarimeter, known as SCIP, was a sophisticated invention built under the leadership of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. The device was engineered to measure infrared polarization continuously across atmospheric heights, capturing magnetic field behavior from the photosphere deep into the chromosphere without confining measurements to a single layer.
Probing spicules and solar atmospheric heating
In addition to quiet planar zones, Sunrise-III analyzed the solar limb, the Sun's visible boundary. According to ScienceDaily, the telescope recorded magnetic field strengths inside spicules, towering dynamic jets of solar gas that erupt upward from the surface, tracking how their magnetic orientation and strength vary with height.
Determining how energy ascends from quiet regions remains critical, as these calm sections cover most of the solar disk. The finding that magnetic lines are continuously twisted into thread-like webs suggests a mechanism for storing and releasing energy upward, providing empirical evidence to resolve long-standing questions regarding how the outer layers of the Sun reach millions of degrees, a breakthrough highlighted by the patent magazine.
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