We just found 'hot sinking gas' on the Sun, which should be physically impossible.
April 17, 2026
Original Paper
Solar photospheric spectrum microvariability III. Radial velocities and line profiles in magnetic active-region granulation
arXiv · 2604.13166
The Takeaway
In every science textbook, hot gas rises and cool gas sinks. But on the Sun’s surface, magnetic fields are so strong they actually force hot, bright gas into downward flows. This 'convective redshift' was discovered by looking at the micro-wiggles in the Sun's light spectrum. It reveals that the Sun’s skin is a lot more violent and counterintuitive than we ever imagined. This discovery is crucial because it helps us understand the magnetic engine that powers solar flares and space weather.
From the abstract
Finding low-mass planets around solar-type stars requires to understand the physical variability of the host star, which greatly exceeds the planet-induced radial-velocity modulation. Different solar photospheric absorption lines have slightly disparate responses to stellar activity, which should permit to disentangle wavelength shifts induced by exoplanets from those originating in stellar atmospheres. Changing area coverage of magnetic active-region granulation (faculae and plage) causes radia