Alfvén Waves and the Sun’s Corona The corona, the low density outer layer of the sun, can only be viewed during a solar eclipse. It has a temperature of over a million degrees kelvin, while the layer beneath is much cooler. Currently, the cause of this is not well understood. Alfvén waves, which propagate on magnetic field lines, could explain this temperature differential. Theory predicts that Alfvén waves with frequencies 0.01-0.5 Hz can heat the corona, causing an observable oscillation in its brightness. Using Fast Fourier Transforms of two image series taken during the 2017 solar eclipse, we searched for […]