![]() Space weather is created when the sun releases its stream of charged particles, called the solar wind, as well as activity by the solar magnetic fields. The Solar Orbiter mission is designed to study the sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, and determine how the sun interacts with the heliosphere, a bubble full of charged particles released by the sun that extends beyond the planets in our solar system. “Even if Solar Orbiter stopped taking data tomorrow, I would be busy for years trying to figure all this stuff out.” Unraveling solar mysteries “The images are really breathtaking,” said David Berghmans, principal investigator of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager instrument at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, in a statement. The science team also saw “coronal moss,” where bright gas creates lacy patterns on the sun. Gas moves around the loops, cools and creates “coronal rain” on the sun’s surface. Solar Orbiter also captured a movie of an active area on the sun where the magnetic field releases loops that rise int the atmosphere. One of these unexpected finds has been dubbed “the hedgehog,” a feature that stretches for 15,534 miles (25,000 kilometers) on the sun and has spikes of hot and cold gas.Ĭurrently, there is no explanation of what it is or how it formed in the sun’s atmosphere. ![]() This puts Solar Orbiter, and another mission called Parker Solar Probe, in perfect position to watch as we head toward solar maximum.Īs Solar Orbiter takes detailed new images of the sun, scientists are trying to determine what they are seeing, comparing them with past solar observations from previous missions to determine if these are known features or unknown phenomena. Sunspots, or dark spots on the sun, are the origin point for the explosive flares and ejection events that release light, solar material and energy into space. This activity is tracked by counting sunspots and how many are visible over time. Over the course of a solar cycle, the sun transitions from a calm period to one that is very intense and active. ![]() The current solar cycle, Solar Cycle 25, officially began in December 2019, and the next solar maximum, when the sun is experiencing peak activity, is predicted to occur in July 2025. It’s important to understand the solar cycle because space weather caused by the sun - eruptions like solar flares and coronal mass ejection events - can impact the power grid, satellites, GPS, airlines, rockets and astronauts in space.Įvery 11 years, the sun completes a solar cycle of calm and stormy activity and begins a new one. The sun is getting more active, and Solar Orbiter has been watching its temper tantrums as the sun heads toward solar maximum. Scientists are just beginning to analyze the full data set captured by the orbiter’s 10 science instruments, but the insights will deepen our understanding of the sun’s behavior and how it affects space weather, which impacts Earth. The orbiter even spied a new feature nicknamed the “hedgehog.” An active star The mission, a joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency, captured views of powerful flares and coronal mass ejections and perspectives of the unexplored solar poles. ![]()
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