A solar granule is a photospheric convection cell, with relatively hot rising material in its interior and cooler descending material near its edges. The pattern formed by their bright interiors and darker edges is solar granulation. Their evolving horizontal outflows can sweep weak magnetic flux toward surrounding lanes.
The evolving cellular intensity pattern on the Sun's photosphere, produced by solar granules. Its radiative appearance and flow pattern are related but are not identical observables. Near-surface horizontal flow can redistribute weak magnetic field into the surrounding intergranular lanes.
An intergranular lane is a region between solar granules, commonly associated with cooler material and descending flow. Horizontal convergence can concentrate approximately vertical magnetic flux there. The field's geometry, diffusivity and feedback determine the actual concentration rather than the lane label alone.
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Solar granules are small, convective cells that form on the surface of the Sun, particularly in the photosphere, which is the visible layer of the Sun's atmosphere. Each granule typically measures about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) across and is part of the dynamic process of convection that occurs in the Sun's outer layers. The formation of granules is driven by the rising and sinking of hot plasma.