December 23, 2024

NASA Supercomputer Solves 400-Year-Old Solar Magnetic Puzzle

Credit: SciTechDaily.comA new research study exposes the suns magnetic field comes from closer to the surface, resolving a 400-year-old secret very first probed by Galileo and improving solar storm forecasting.A worldwide group of scientists, including Northwestern University engineers, is getting closer to solving a 400-year-old solar secret that puzzled even famous astronomer Galileo Galilei.Since first observing the suns magnetic activity, astronomers have actually struggled to identify where the procedure comes from. “This work proposes a new hypothesis for how the suns magnetic field is generated that much better matches solar observations, and, we hope, could be utilized to make much better forecasts of solar activity. Theories recommending the dynamo has a deep origin, for example, anticipate solar functions that astronomers have never observed, such as strong magnetic fields at high latitudes.This image from June 20, 2013, at 11:15 p.m. EDT reveals the intense light of a solar flare on the left side of the sun and an eruption of solar material shooting through the suns environment, called a prominence eruption.

Credit: SciTechDaily.comA new research study exposes the suns magnetic field stems closer to the surface, fixing a 400-year-old secret first probed by Galileo and improving solar storm forecasting.An international team of scientists, including Northwestern University engineers, is getting closer to fixing a 400-year-old solar secret that baffled even well known astronomer Galileo Galilei.Since first observing the suns magnetic activity, astronomers have struggled to determine where the procedure originates. Now, after running a series of complex estimations on a NASA supercomputer, the scientists found the magnetic field is created about 20,000 miles listed below the suns surface.The finding opposes previous theories, which recommend the phenomenon has deep origins– starting more than 130,000 miles below the suns surface.The research was released on May 22 in the journal Nature.Not just does the brand-new discovery assist us better comprehend our suns vibrant processes, it also could help researchers more accurately anticipated effective solar storms. “This work proposes a new hypothesis for how the suns magnetic field is created that better matches solar observations, and, we hope, might be used to make better forecasts of solar activity. Theories suggesting the dynamo has a deep origin, for example, anticipate solar features that astronomers have actually never ever observed, such as strong magnetic fields at high latitudes.This image from June 20, 2013, at 11:15 p.m. EDT reveals the bright light of a solar flare on the left side of the sun and an eruption of solar product shooting through the suns environment, called a prominence eruption. Numerous elements of solar characteristics remain shrouded in secret, our work makes big strides in breaking one of the earliest unsolved problems in theoretical physics and opens the method to much better forecasts of unsafe solar activity.