New research suggests that the Sun’s magnetic field originates near the surface, rather than deep inside the star. . This upends decades of prevailing scientific views that the field is more than 130,000 miles (210,000 kilometers) below the Sun’s surface. It also brings us closer to understanding the nature of the Sun’s magnetic field, which has puzzled scientists since Galileo.
The study and a team of international researchers suggest that the magnetic field is actually generated 20,000 miles below the surface. This was discovered after the team ran a series of complex calculations on a NASA supercomputer. It’s worth noting that these are just initial findings and further research is needed to confirm the data.
The Sun’s magnetic field fluctuates in a cycle that lasts 11 years. During the strongest phase of this cycle, strong winds and sunspots form at the solar equator, as well as plumes of material that cause the sun here on Earth. Previous theories that locate the magnetic field deeper inside the Sun have had difficulty connecting these different solar phenomena. Scientists hope that with further study, this theory will not only explain how solar events form, but also more accurately predict when they will occur.
Every second, 1.5 million tons of solar material shoots off from the Sun at a speed of 100 miles per second. Earth’s magnetic field deflects most of it, but not all of it. The solar wind, a stream of charged particles, moves at a speed of 447 km/s (1 million miles per hour), and while the magnetic field protects… pic.twitter.com/40CSNZYesU
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This could lead to more than just earlier predictions of the next Aurora Borealis event. The Sun’s intense magnetic energy is also the source of solar flares and plasma outbursts called coronal mass ejections. When these ejecta travel toward Earth, all sorts of bad things happen. This famously happened in 1859, when a huge geomagnetic storm triggered the largest solar storm in history.
This is attributed to British astronomer Richard Christopher Carrington. The solar flare, which was actually a magnetic explosion on the sun’s surface, briefly outshone the sun and caused colorful lights to erupt across the planet, similar to the auroras. She also strung up telegraph cables, shocked the telephone operators and set telegraph paper on fire. It was pretty nasty.
This was 1859, before the modern use of electricity and before computers and all the associated technologies. If something like the Carrington event happened today, . The X-rays and ultraviolet light emitted would interfere with electronics, radio and satellite signals. The event would trigger a solar radiation storm that would be deadly for astronauts not fully equipped with protective gear.
It would also cause a coronal mass ejection to slam into Earth’s magnetic field, impacting cellphone satellites, modern cars, and even airplanes. The resulting worldwide blackouts could last for months. Last month’s (relatively speaking) smaller storm was not a Carrington-sized event. Worse? It’s absolutely due for this to happen. It’s basically a ticking time bomb.
Theoretically, these findings could be used to develop new early warning methods for large-scale solar flares on Earth. One day we might have solar flare warnings in addition to hurricane warnings and the like. Research has already shown some interesting connections between sunspots and the sun’s magnetic activity.
“We still don’t understand the Sun well enough to make accurate predictions about solar weather,” says the study’s lead author, Geoffrey Vasil of the University of Edinburgh These new findings “will be an important step toward definitively unraveling” this mysterious Northwestern University process.
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