New Discovery Provides Insight into Mystery of Sun’s Extraordinarily Hot Corona
In a groundbreaking development, solar physicists have made a significant leap forward in understanding why the sun’s corona, its outer atmosphere, is over 150 times hotter than the sun’s surface. For the past 65 years, this phenomenon has puzzled scientists, but new data from the European Space Agency (ESA)-led Solar Orbiter and NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has shed light on this mystery.
The corona, with a temperature of approximately one million degrees Celsius, defies conventional logic as it is further away from the sun’s heat source. However, the recent discovery suggests that turbulence within the magnetized plasma of the solar atmosphere may be responsible for this extreme heating.
Experts have long suspected turbulence as a potential cause of the corona’s heating. Still, the complex nature of the sun’s atmosphere has made it challenging to acquire the necessary data to investigate this hypothesis thoroughly.
The Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe, through their remote sensing and in-situ measurements, respectively, offer complementary approaches to studying the sun. On June 1, 2022, Solar Orbiter was perfectly positioned to observe the region of the corona that Parker Solar Probe was traversing. This fortuitous alignment allowed for simultaneous measurements of the corona’s large-scale configuration and plasma properties.
Leveraging these measurements, solar physicists have made the first combined estimate of the coronal heating rate. The data strongly indicates that turbulence in the magnetized plasma is the primary cause of the corona’s extraordinary heating. This groundbreaking finding represents a significant step forward in understanding the coronal heating problem and opens up new avenues for solar research.
While further work is required to fully unravel the enigma surrounding the corona’s temperature, this measurement provides valuable insights into the underlying process. Scientists are optimistic that this breakthrough will pave the way for further investigation and bring them closer to solving this long-standing mystery.
The research findings have been met with enthusiasm within the scientific community, as they offer a fresh perspective on the workings of our nearest star. The implications of understanding the sun’s atmosphere go beyond mere curiosity, as they can have a profound impact on space weather, satellite communications, and even climate studies here on Earth.
As solar researchers continue their quest to unlock the secrets of the sun, this latest discovery marks a significant milestone in their endeavor. With new dimensions opened up, the future of solar research looks brighter than ever before.
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