An outside team of research worker has used data from NASA ’s Solar Dynamic Observatory to discover a brand - new type of explosion in the solar corona , the atmosphere of the Sun . The spectacular event is yell a forced magnetic reconnection and could help explain why the electric glow is C of time hotter than the Earth’s surface of the Sun .
As reported inThe Astrophysical Journal , observations in May 2012 showed come out material from the aerofoil of the Sun , a so - called prominence , slamming into magnetised line . The interactions caused a striking realignment of the tangled magnetised arena pipeline , let go energy very quickly and causing an detonation .
The realignment of subject short letter is a studied featured of the Sun and it is known as magnetised reconnection . But before this study , researchers had no evidence suggesting that it could be forced by a solar eruption .
“ This was the first reflexion of an international number one wood of charismatic reconnection , ” moderate author Abhishek Srivastava , a solar scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology ( BHU ) said in astatement . “ This could be very utilitarian for understanding other systems . For good example , Earth ’s and planetary magnetosphere , other magnetized plasma generator , let in experimentation at research lab scales where plasm is highly disseminative and very hard to check . ”
The spontaneous magnetic reconnection postulate very specific stipulation , but the force one looks like less strict so they can happen more often , give that there is something to supply the material . In this display case , a solar eruption to release the material in the first post , but the team suspects that other solar eruption such as flare and coronal pot exclusion could be equally efficient in forcing magnetic reconnection .
“ Our persuasion is that forced reconnection is everywhere , ” Srivastava added . “ But we have to continue to observe it , to quantify it , if we want to prove that . ”
Forced magnetized reconnections ignite up textile to high temperatures more efficiently than the spontaneous counterpart . For this reason , the solar scientist suspect it might have something to do with the mystery of the corona temperature . The surface of the Sun has a temperature of around 5,499 ° C ( 9,930 ° F ) but the corona is over 1 million ° hundred ( 1.8 million ° F ) .
NASA ’s Parker Solar Probe and the forthcoming European Solar Orbiter will provide even more information to answer the mystery of how the corposant gets heated .
