Solar Spicules and Their Role in Solar Phenomena

Spicules are very small, short-lived eruptive features on the sun. They occur in large numbers, and appear to be uniformly distributed over the polar regions where they have been observed. They are continuously active in these regions, and may be distributed over the entire sun. The spicules appear to project material away from the sun, and may be a principal source of material for the corona. Some lines of investigation suggest relations of spicules to the granulation observed on the disk of the sun, and to the recurrent ionospheric storms attributed to M-regions.