Charged dust grains may influence solar corona heating, study reports

A team led by a researcher at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), part of the University of Alabama System, has published a new study in *The Astrophysical Journal* that challenges long‑standing ideas about the heating of the Sun’s outer atmosphere. The paper argues that minuscule, charged dust grains orbiting the Sun can play a major role in transporting energy through the solar corona.

Using advanced plasma‑physics simulations and observational data, the study shows that these dust grains can absorb, scatter, and re‑emit electromagnetic energy, creating localized heating effects that may account for the corona’s extreme temperatures—millions of degrees—compared with the Sun’s surface. The findings suggest that the corona’s energy balance is more complex than previously thought, with dust‑particle interactions contributing significantly to the heat transfer processes.

If confirmed, the research could reshape models of solar atmospheric dynamics and improve predictions of space‑weather phenomena. The UAH team plans to pursue further observational campaigns to validate the dust‑grain heating mechanism and its impact on solar activity.