![]() ![]() "Despite being tiny by solar standards, each packs the wallop of a 10-megaton hydrogen bomb. "The explosions are called nanoflares because they have one-billionth the energy of a regular flare," Jim Klimchuk, a solar scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, said in a statement. Research suggests that tiny explosions known as nanoflares may help push the temperature up by providing sporadic bursts reaching up to 18 million F (10 million C). When you're roasting a marshmallow you move it closer to the fire to cook it, not farther away." "Things usually get cooler farther away from a hot source. "That's a bit of a puzzle," Jeff Brosius, a space scientist at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a statement. Why the corona is up to 300 times hotter than the photosphere, despite being farther from the solar core, has remained a long-term mystery. As the gases cool, they become the solar wind. Temperatures in the sun's corona can get as high as 3.5 million degrees F (2 million degrees C). It appears as white streamers or plumes of ionized gas that flow outward into space. Like the chromosphere, the sun's corona can only be seen during a total solar eclipse (or with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory). The third layer of the sun's atmosphere is the corona. Solar flares and CMEs are the most powerful explosions in our solar system.The third layer of the sun's atmosphere is the corona. When particularly strong, a CME can also interfere in power utility grids, which at their worst can cause electricity shortages and power outages. ![]() When charged particles from a CME reach areas near Earth, they can trigger intense lights in the sky, called auroras. ![]() They explode into space at very high speed when the Sun’s magnetic field lines suddenly reorganize. CMEs are huge bubbles of radiation and particles from the Sun. Solar flares are sometimes accompanied by a coronal mass ejection (CME for short). A loop of solar material, a coronal mass ejection (CME), can also be seen rising up off the right limb of the Sun. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this imagery of a solar flare, as seen in the bright flash. If a solar flare is very intense, the radiation it releases can interfere with our radio communications here on Earth. Solar flares release a lot of radiation into space. This can cause a sudden explosion of energy called a solar flare. The magnetic field lines near sunspots often tangle, cross, and reorganize. Image credit: NASA/SDO/AIA/HMI/Goddard Space Flight Center Solar Flares In this image, you can see an active region on the sun with dark sunspots. These magnetic fields are so strong that they keep some of the heat within the Sun from reaching the surface. Why are sunspots relatively cool? It’s because they form at areas where magnetic fields are particularly strong. The temperature of a sunspot is still very hot though-around 6,500 degrees Fahrenheit! They appear dark because they are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface. Sunspots are areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun. The glowing hot gas traces out the twists and loops of the Sun’s magnetic field lines. Solar activity can have effects here on Earth, so scientists closely monitor solar activity every day.Īn image of active regions on the Sun from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. The amount of solar activity changes with the stages in the solar cycle. Sometimes the Sun’s surface is very active. This motion creates a lot of activity on the Sun's surface, called solar activity. The Sun’s gases are constantly moving, which tangles, stretches and twists the magnetic fields. It has electrically charged gases that generate areas of powerful magnetic forces. The surface of the Sun is a very busy place. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |