Technologies

That’s Hot: Check Out This Video of the Sun’s Corona in All Its Glory

The corona dances playfully as its temperatures approach 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit.

Last month’s total solar eclipse wasn’t the only fun with the sun skygazers are enjoying this year. The European Science Agency has just dropped a hot new video of the sun’s corona, which is the upper layer of the sun’s atmosphere. The agency’s solar orbiter recorded the footage on Sept. 23, 2023, and the group has annotated the 30-second video to give viewers some context into what they’re looking at.

Just a few seconds in, you’ll get a glimpse of some coronal moss, a bright gas that makes lacy patterns across the sun. A few seconds later, the ESA points out spicules along the horizon — spires of gas that reach up through the sun’s chromosphere. These spires can reach heights of 10,000 kilometers, or approximately 6,200 miles. The video also captures what appears to be a small eruption at the 22-second mark. «Small» is relative, as the ESA notes that the eruption was larger than Earth.

Read more: How an Apple Watch Saved the Solar Eclipse for Me

The clip ends with a glimpse of coronal rain, which is made up of high-density clumps of plasma that sizzles at a temperature around 10,000 degrees Celsius (18,032 Fahrenheit). For context, the brighter coronal loop around the rain is burning at 1 million degrees Celsius (1.8 million Fahrenheit). In short, rain showers on the sun are insane.

Snake crossing the sun

As a whole, this is some of the best video footage we puny humans have ever seen of the sun. It comes courtesy of the ESA’s solar orbiter and its extreme ultraviolet imager, launched as part of the agency’s mission to capture close-up images of the sun in ways never before seen. The mission began in 2020 with the launch of the solar orbiter, and nabbed amazing images of the sun in 2022, along with some footage of Earth, Mars and Venus.

Arguably, the most intense footage so far was that of a massive solar eruption that extended millions of kilometers into space, and later footage that looks like a snake slithering across the sun. According to NASA, which assists the ESA, the snake effect was caused by the intermingling of plasma and the sun’s magnetic field.

The mission has also given us the first-ever close-up images of the sun’s polar regions and measurements of the sun’s solar winds that were impossible to take on Earth.

Read more: Total Solar Eclipse 2024: The Best Photos We’ve Seen

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Oct. 26

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 26.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I thought 4-Down was a bit tricky, but read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Rubber ducky’s «habitat»
Answer: BATH

5A clue: Coin in Cannes
Answer: EURO

6A clue: Go «Grrrr …»
Answer: GROWL

8A clue: «The other thing I wanted to say …»
Answer: ALSO

9A clue: Street sign in a school zone
Answer: SLOW

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Plead
Answer: BEG

2D clue: Vibes, in Gen Z speak
Answer: AURAS

3D clue: Social media menace
Answer: TROLL

4D clue: «Oh, yeah? Explain that to me»
Answer: HOWSO

7D clue: Like a phone battery under 20%
Answer: LOW

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 26, #398

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 26, No. 398.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one. That purple category — oof, it’s a typical Connections brain-buster. If you’re struggling but still want to solve the puzzle, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Bunch of players.

Green group hint: College division.

Blue group hint: Knock it out of the park.

Purple group hint: You’ll find a hidden word in these four team names.