Small coronal jets emerge to power the solar wind

Madrid, January 11 (Europe Press) –

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission has revealed new clues to the origins of the solar wind. A continuous stream of charged particles from the sun that fills the solar system.

Observations from multiple space and ground-based observatories show that the solar wind can be driven largely by small jets at the base of the corona, the sun’s upper atmosphere. This finding helps scientists To better understand the 60-year-old mystery of what heats and accelerates the solar wind.

According to Nour Al-Rawafi, study leader and Parker Solar Probe project scientist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, “This new data shows us how the solar wind starts at its source.” “You can see the solar wind flow coming from tiny plasma jets of millions of degrees across the base of the corona. These results will have a significant impact on our understanding of the heating and acceleration of the coronal plasma and the solar wind.”

Understanding the solar wind is critical to understanding our solar system and other systems in the universe, and is the primary science goal of the Parker Solar Probe mission. Made up of electrons, protons, and heavier ions, the solar wind traverses the solar system at about a million kilometers per hour. NASA reports.

When the solar wind interacts with Earth’s magnetic field, it can create impressive aurorae, as well as disturbances to GPS and communications systems. Over time, solar winds and stellar winds from other solar systems can also influence the formation and evolution of planetary atmospheres, And even influence the habitability of planets.

On Earth, the solar wind is usually a steady breeze. Therefore, scientists were looking for a stable source of the sun that could constantly feed the solar wind. However, the new findings – Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal and published in ArXiv- They show that the solar wind can be greatly energized and powered by individual jets that blast sporadically at the bottom of the corona. Although each small plane is relatively small – only a few hundred kilometers in length – Their collective energy and mass may be enough to generate the solar wind.

According to Craig de Forest, a solar physicist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and co-author of the new paper, “This finding suggests that perhaps all of the solar wind is fired sporadically, becoming a steady stream, much like a single clap in the auditorium.” It becomes a continuous roar as the audience applauds.” “This changes the paradigm of how we think about certain aspects of the solar wind.”