NuSTARs view could assist researchers solve one of the biggest mysteries about our nearby star: why the Suns outer environment, called the corona, reaches more than a million degrees– at least 100 times hotter than its surface. Due to the fact that the Suns heat comes from in its core and travels external, this has actually puzzled researchers. If the air around a fire were 100 times hotter than the flames, its as.
The source of the coronas heat might be small eruptions in the Suns environment called nanoflares. Flares are large outbursts of heat, light, and particles noticeable to a broad variety of solar observatories.
The Sun appears various depending on whos looking. From left, NASAs NuSTAR sees high-energy X-rays; the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agencys Hinode mission sees lower energy X-rays; and NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory sees ultraviolet light. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JAXA
Although private nanoflares are too faint to observe in the middle of the Suns blazing light, NuSTAR can detect light from the high-temperature material believed to be produced when a big number of nanoflares occur near one another. This ability makes it possible for physicists to investigate how often nanoflares occur and how they launch energy.
The observations utilized in these images accompanied the 12th close method to the Sun, or perihelion, by NASAs Parker Solar Probe, which is flying closer to our star than any other spacecraft in history. Taking observations with NuSTAR during one of Parkers perihelion passes allows researchers to link activity observed remotely in the Suns atmosphere with the direct samples of the solar environment taken by the probe.
More About the Mission
On June 13, 2012, the Caltech-led Small Explorer mission, NuSTAR, was introduced. It is managed by JPL on behalf of NASAs Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The task was developed in collaboration with the Danish Technical University (DTU) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), with the telescope optics developed by Columbia University, NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and DTU, while the spacecraft was put together by Orbital Sciences Corp. in Dulles, Virginia. Objective operations are supervised by the University of California, Berkeley, while NASAs High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center functions as the main data archive. ASI offers both the ground station and mirror data archive, with JPL being handled by Caltech for NASA.
A brand-new image displays some of this covert light, consisting of the high-energy X-rays produced by the hottest material in the Suns environment, as observed by NASAs Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). While the observatory generally studies things outside our solar system– like huge black holes and collapsed stars– it has actually likewise supplied astronomers with insights about our Sun.
NuSTARs view could assist researchers resolve one of the most significant secrets about our nearest star: why the Suns outer environment, called the corona, reaches more than a million degrees– at least 100 times hotter than its surface. The source of the coronas heat might be little eruptions in the Suns environment called nanoflares. The Sun appears different depending on whos looking.
Wavelengths of light from 3 area observatories are overlapped to supply this unique view of the Sun. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JAXA
Some of the most popular spots in the Suns environment appear in the NuSTAR telescopes X-ray view.
Even on a warm day, human eyes cant see all the light our nearest star provides off. A new image shows a few of this concealed light, including the high-energy X-rays emitted by the hottest material in the Suns atmosphere, as observed by NASAs Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). While the observatory usually studies items outside our planetary system– like huge black holes and collapsed stars– it has actually likewise supplied astronomers with insights about our Sun.
In the composite image above, NuSTAR data is represented as blue and is overlaid with observations by the X-ray Telescope (XRT) on the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agencys Hinode objective, represented as green, and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), represented as red. NuSTARs fairly small field of view indicates it cant see the entire Sun from its position in Earth orbit, so the observatorys view of the Sun is actually a mosaic of 25 images, taken in June 2022.
The high-energy X-ray light discovered by NASAs NuSTAR observatory is seen separated here. A grid was included to indicate the Suns surface. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JAXA
The high-energy X-rays observed by NuSTAR appear at just a few places in the Suns environment. By contrast, Hinodes XRT identifies low-energy X-rays, and SDOs AIA identifies ultraviolet light– wavelengths that are produced throughout the whole face of the Sun.