10 amazing discoveries about the Sun from the universe

In February 2020, the Solar Observatory (SDO) of the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) celebrated 10 years of operation in space. For the past decade, SDO has been focusing on observing the sun, studying how the sun works and spatial weather orientation for the entire Solar System, including the Earth.

Since launching on February 11, 2010, SDO has collected millions of scientific photos of the stars closest to us, providing scientists with new insights into activity. activity of the sun. SDO's measured solar data, from the inside to the atmosphere, the magnetic field and the energy produced, have contributed to our immense knowledge of the sun. SDO photos have become iconic, and if you see the close-up activities of the Sun, it's almost SDO's. SDO's activity in space allows it to observe nearly the entire 11-year cycle of solar activity. And here are some of the SDO's most successful achievements over the years.

Great flames

Immediately after deploying the device, SDO captured this beautiful eruption on March 30, 2010.(Image: NASA)

SDO has witnessed countless terrifying flames, these are huge plasma beams released from the sun's surface. Many of those flames have become symbolic images of the intense sun. Over the first year and a half, SDO witnessed nearly 200 solar flames, allowing scientists to discover their patterns of activity. They found that about 15% of the flare-up flared at a later stage, which will occur minutes to hours after the initial outbreak. Researching from these special models, scientists have a better understanding of the total energy generated when the sun erupts.

Tornadoes in the Sun

In February 2012, SDO collected images of incredible plasma tornadoes on the surface of the sun. Later observations show that these tornadoes are made up of a rotating plasma magnetic field, which has a rotation speed of up to 186,000 miles per hour. On earth, tornadoes reach a maximum speed of about 300 miles per hour.

The giant wave

The sea of ​​plasma swirling on the surface of the sun can create huge waves that travel around the sun at speeds of up to 3 million miles per hour. These waves, dubbed the EIT waves, after a device with the same name on another solar observatory spacecraft (the Solar Observatory and the heliosphere) discovered them, were captured by SDO in high resolution in 2010. These observations show for the first time how these waves move around the surface of the sun. Scientists suspect these waves are driven by aurora eruptions, which often spray plasma clouds into the Solar System.

Flammable comets

Over the years, SDO has been tracking two comets that fly along the sun. In December 2011, observers watched how comet Lovejoy escaped burning when it flew over orbit 516 thousand miles from the sun's surface. And the comet ISON could not escape this encounter with the sun. Through observations like these, SDO scientists have been providing new information on how the sun interacts with comets.

Circulation on the surface

Without a solid surface, the sun exists in the form of a flow due to the intense heat that tries to escape and the sun's rotation. Moving at medium latitudes are large-scale circulation patterns known as Meridonial circulation rings. SDO's observations show that these circulation rings are more complex than scientists think and are linked to the creation of sunspots on the sun. These periodic patterns could even explain why at the same time half of the hemisphere had more black spots than the rest.

Predict the future

The sun is flushing material out of aurora eruptions (CME) and solar winds to the entire Solar System. When they interact with the Earth's magnetic environment, they can create space weather, which could endanger spacecraft and astronauts. Using data from SDO, scientists can work with the model of a CME while traveling through the Solar System to assess potential effects on the earth. Observing the sun on a long-term basis also helps scientists build a machine-learning model to try to predict when the sun releases CME.

The fading of the sun's rim

The super-hot outer ring of the sun, corona - the bright rim around the sun , sometimes fades away. Scientists working on this dim light have discovered their link to the CMEs, which have a major impact on extreme cosmic weather events that can damage satellites and endanger astronauts. From the data observed by SDO, scientists can calculate the mass and velocity of CME events, the most dangerous type, to Earth. By linking the fading of the light rings to the size of the CMEs, the scientists were hoping to study the effects of space weather around other stars, which were too far away to be measured. their CMEs.

Life and death of a circle of the Sun

During a decade of operation, SDO has now observed nearly an 11-year solar cycle. At the beginning of almost the beginning of a solar cycle, SDO has seen the sun's activity reach its maximum and is now fading to a minimum. These years-long observations have helped scientists understand the signals of degradation and the beginning of a solar cycle.

Polar rim pits

The image was taken by SDO on March 16, 2015, showing two dark spots, called rim rings.The lower rim, an extreme coronary, is one of the largest ever observed in decades.(Photo: NASA).

Occasionally, the surface of the sun will have traces of a very large dark area, called the bright rim, where ultraviolet radiation is low. Linked to the magnetic field of the sun, these holes follow the solar cycle, increasing sharply as the sun reaches its peak. When they travel to the top and bottom of the sun, they are called polar rings and scientists can use their disappearance to determine when the sun's magnetic field is reversing - a sure sign. when the sun is at its peak.

New magnetic explosions

The magnetic reconnection was first observed from SDO on May 3, 2012.(Photo: NASA).

At the end of a decade in December 2019, SDO observations allowed scientists to discover a new form of magnetic explosion. This particular form, called the spontaneous magnetic reconnection (compared to the common forms of magnetic reconnection previously observed) helps confirm a theory that has been around for decades. It could even help scientists understand why the atmosphere determines the sun is so hot, predicts better space weather, and could lead to breakthroughs in fusion control and experiments. plasma in laboratory.

In the tenth year, SDO will join the Solar Orbiter of the European Space Agency (ESA) in a joint mission between ESA and NASA. With its inclined trajectory, the Solar Orbiter will be able to observe the polar region where SDO is limited coverage. Solar Orbiter has complete equipment that allows both tasks to work together to create 3D images of the structures beneath the visible surface of the sun, providing scientists with greater understanding. about solar activities in the years to come.

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