NASA’s Parker Photo voltaic Probe has made vital strides in unravelling a long-standing puzzle concerning the solar. The spacecraft has delivered new insights into why the solar’s outer ambiance, referred to as the corona, is way hotter than its floor. This enigma, referred to as the “coronal heating thriller,” has baffled scientists for many years.
Discoveries from the Parker Photo voltaic Probe
The Parker Photo voltaic Probe, the quickest human-made object, has now accomplished 20 shut passes by the solar. Throughout these encounters, it collected knowledge revealing abrupt reversals within the route of the solar’s magnetic fields, termed “switchbacks.” These switchbacks could be essential in understanding how the corona is heated. Researchers speculate that the vitality launched by these magnetic area reversals may contribute to heating the corona and accelerating the photo voltaic wind.
Regardless of the photosphere being nearer to the solar’s core, the place nuclear fusion happens, the corona’s temperature is lots of of occasions larger. The Parker Photo voltaic Probe’s knowledge has proven that switchbacks are frequent within the photo voltaic wind near the solar. Nonetheless, they don’t seem to be noticed to originate from the corona itself, which reductions one of many main theories about their position in coronal heating.
Unraveling the Heating Mechanisms
Scientists are exploring various mechanisms that would clarify the corona’s excessive temperatures. One risk entails explosive collisions of chaotic magnetic area traces on the solar’s floor. These collisions would possibly create vibrations just like plucked guitar strings, accelerating plasma within the photo voltaic wind to excessive speeds. If some magnetic waves lose vitality earlier than escaping the solar, this vitality could be deposited within the corona, contributing to its heating.
The Parker Photo voltaic Probe’s findings refine our understanding of the solar’s behaviour and have implications for predicting photo voltaic storms. The probe’s mission, which started in 2018, continues to supply priceless knowledge. It should return to proximity to the solar on September 30 and strategy even additional on Christmas Eve this yr. Every shut move affords new alternatives to uncover the secrets and techniques of the solar’s corona and its dynamic processes.
