2023-08-29 08:46:15
Did the Sun observation data from the European Solar Orbiter probe make it possible to discover the source of the solar wind? Yes, answer the authors of a study that discusses the discovery of tiny jets of superheated gas that might fuel the flow of charged particles that make up the solar wind.
You will also be interested
[EN VIDÉO] Solar wind: the Earth protected by its magnetic field Storms from the Sun throw high-energy particles into space that astronauts can…
In space, the solar wind solar wind somehow makes rain and shine. Indeed, its intensity directly influences the magnetic field that surrounds the Earth and can cause many disturbing phenomena for human activity in orbit and satellites for example. For astronauts in activity around the Earth or on the Moon, it is also a source of concern for the radiation it brings and the disturbances it can cause on satellites, in particular those used for navigation, positioning and the communications.
The Sun as no one had seen it before!
Surprisingly, its origin is poorly understood, so scientists have more guesses than certainties. They know that a significant fraction of the solar wind is associated with structures called coronal holes. These are regions where the magnetic field of the SunSun does not fall back towards the Sun but extends deep into the Solar System. This allows plasma to flow along these “open” magnetic field lines, heading into the Solar SystemSolar System, creating the solar wind. Only, they had no certainty on how the plasma began its departure from the Sun. The most commonly accepted hypothesis was that the corona being hot, it naturally expanded and part of it escaped along the field lines, in continuous and constant flow.
The future Sun’s Wrath monitoring satellite has a name!
Has Solar Orbiter discovered the main source of the solar wind?
However, this mystery that they have been trying to unravel for several decades might well have been solved during observations made by the Solar Orbiter probe! By discovering tiny jets of superheated gas gas, which appear and then disappear following 20 to 100 seconds by ejecting plasma at around 100 km/s, a team of researchers, under the direction of Lakshmi Pradeep Chitta, is convinced that these jets feed the flow of charged particles which constitute the solar wind. This team believes that these expelled particles have the ability to be emitted in sufficient quantities to be the much sought-following source of solar energy and thus explain the source of the solar wind – or at least the main source. According to the authors of the studyit is not excluded that even smaller and more frequent events expel the mattermatter that forms the solar wind.
This discovery was made possible thanks to the very high sensitivity of the EUI ultraviolet imager capable of seeing these jets, which are only a few hundred kilometers long. Let’s not forget that the probe was some 75 million kilometers away!
—
The new issue of Mag’ Futura ” How does the cosmos influence us? is now available on newsstands:
I find the Mag’ Future on newsstands
In this new issue, discover:
1 central file: “How does the cosmos influence us?” “; 1 opening file on an environmental issue: “Facing Gaïa – Mountains, sanctuaries under pressure”; And many other formats to better understand the world and preserve it: The animal of the quarter, Mechanics of beauty , Where is the Tech going?, The cosmic epiphany, Science in comics…
1693300245
#greatest #mysteries #Sun #finally #unveiled #Solar #Orbiter #probe
