The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope has been a game-changer. It has delivered some of the highest resolution views we have ever taken of the Sun. Now, it has provided the highest resolution observations of coronal loops during a solar flare. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The solar flare in question was a respectably strong X1.3-class flare. It took place last year on August 8, 2024, at 20:12 UT as it was ramping up to the solar maximum . Coronal loops are arches of plasma that follow the magnetic lines of the Sun. As they twist and snap, the magnetic energy can heat up plasma to millions of degrees, producing a bright flare. The precise thickness of these loops was uncertain until now. The new observations sugges

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