Groundbreaking observations from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope uncover surprising insights about the impact of solar flares on the sun’s atmosphere, challenging our understanding of these dramatic events.
An Unplanned Sunspots Dance
A new finding made by researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder reveals how sunspots — darkened patches on the sun caused by solar flares — can “explain” magnetic explosions in the sun’s outer atmosphere.
The team used the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope to witness the rotation of couple of barely noticeable little pores (little sunspots) on a superficial level in the sun. While searching for clues to the mechanisms at work in solar flares, De Pontieu and Goode found that all of these pores were tied to a relatively weak C-class flare, but they did not move like any one had seen before.
While earlier research had zeroed in on the rotation of sunspots, and only during more-energetic flares, this discovery reveals a broader activity occurring deep within the sun’s atmosphere. The researchers suggest that the observed rotation is related to changes in the Lorentz force, a force caused by interactions between electrically charged solar particles and magnetic fields of the sun.
It is understood that the discovery will add new dimensions in the field of science and also facilitate the refining of knowledge about sun flares as to how they affect about lower layers of solar atmosphere (the visible surface i.e., photosphere to outermost layer, corona). Knowledge of these processes is essential for forecasting the impact of solar activity on Earth and our space-based technologies.
The Enigma of Solar Flares
Complex and mysterious, solar flares have fascinated humans for centuries. They release large amounts of energy very quickly and this can have a great impact on our planet and the space environment around it.
Solar flares are known to emit huge amounts of radiation throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, spanning near ultraviolet to X-rays. Such events can ignite auroras at high latitudes, disrupt satellite communications and even effect power grids on the ground.
Even in the 150+ years since the first recorded solar flare, they have remained mysterious and at times frustratingly unpredictable. An important question is how these events impact the various layers of the solar atmosphere, from the visible surface to the outermost corona.
The results from the University of Colorado, Boulder researchers could indicate that the dynamic relationship between solar flares and atmospheric action happening on the sun is far messier than previously indicated. The study of this tiny sunspots rotating, which are associated with a flare of less energy opens new doors because it contradicts behavior we predicted.
Moreover, as we de-mystify the nature of solar flares, the information gleaned from history and physics could bear significant implications across budget-dollared lines – our knowledge of space weather; how it affects us here on Earth (both in terms of technologically sustainable infrastructure and human astronaut / deep-space flight safety) vs. where recent or future missions might go…
Conclusion
New observations by the University of Colorado, Boulder, team using as Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope suggest that our current models of how solar flares evolve during explosions might be incomplete and overlook an essential processing affecting off-the-sun particles injected into the Sun’s atmosphere. This discovery of the surprising rotations in a relatively small sunspot, presumably associated with a not so strong flare indicates that the solar atmosphere is much more dynamic than previously known.
The findings presented in this paper open new doorways of research which could potentially refine our understanding of solar activity that has direct consequences on future space weather prediction and safety precautions for technological infrastructure and living things in the medium-earth orbit. The new results from the explosions of solar flares will surprise us even more as we continue to explore this enigmatic problem — and provide us with a deeper understanding, which in turn will help defend against their dramatic impacts.
