What is . . the sun ?

The Transit of Venus    The Sun     Venus 

Solar Magnetic Loops

This beautiful TRACE image shows clusters of hot coronal loops which span 30 or more times the diameter of planet Earth. These are believed to be created by the Sun's magnetic field channelling the electrified gases in these exotic arch-like shapes.

Courtesy of the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) Team. TRACE is a mission of the Stanford-Lockheed Institute for Space Research and part of the NASA Small Explorer program.