This image shows a portion of the Sun in 3D (you'll need 3D glasses to see the effect). This picture is actually a combination of images from the twin STEREO spacecraft, which monitor the Sun from two different locations in space. The images were captured on May 3, 2007. Coronal loops rise into the solar atmosphere above an active region on the Sun's "surface" in this image captured in ultraviolet "light".
Image courtesy of NASA.