At the center of this image (left) from NASA’s High Resolution Coronal Imager sounding rocket is a small, irregular structure on the Sun that solar physicists call “moss.” It forms low in the solar environment around the center of sunspot groups on the Sun where magnetic activity is strong. An image from NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS, objective reveals an in-depth landscapes of the cooler roots of moss (right). Credit: NASA/Bose et al 2024
< period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>NASA</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is "To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity." Its core values are "safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion." NASA conducts research, develops technology and launches missions to explore and study Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. It also works to advance the state of knowledge in a wide range of scientific fields, including Earth and space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics, and it collaborates with private companies and international partners to achieve its goals.</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes=" [{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex ="0" function ="link" > NASA research study has actually discovered how electrical currents and twisted electromagnetic fields warm theSun’s mossy areas from10,000 to 1 million degrees< period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>Fahrenheit</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>The Fahrenheit scale is a temperature scale, named after the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit and based on one he proposed in 1724. In the Fahrenheit temperature scale, the freezing point of water freezes is 32 °F and water boils at 212 °F, a 180 °F separation, as defined at sea level and standard atmospheric pressure. </div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex ="0" function ="link" >Fahrenheit, assisting in comprehending solar climatic heating.
Did you understand theSun has moss?(*************************************************************************************************************************************************** )to its similarity to the earthly plants, researchers have actually called a small, brilliant, irregular structure made from< period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>plasma</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter, along with solid, liquid, and gas. It is an ionized gas consisting of positive ions and free electrons. It was first described by chemist Irving Langmuir in the 1920s.</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex =(********************************************** )function ="link" > plasma in the solar environment“moss.”This moss, which was initially recognized in1999 by NASA’s TRACE objective, blooms around the center of a sunspot group, where magnetic conditions are strong.It straddles 2 climatic layers called the chromosphere and corona and conceals listed below the long feathery ropes of plasma called coronal loops.
Research onSolarMoss
For years, researchers have actually struggled to comprehend how this mossy area is linked to the(************************************************************************************** )’s lower climatic layers and how material there is heated up from10,(*********************************************************************** )degrees Fahrenheit as much as almost 1 million degrees Fahrenheit– 100 times hotter than the brilliant surface area simply below. Now, research study made it possible for by NASA’s High Resolution Coronal Imager (Hi- C) sounding rocket and NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) objective have actually offered researchers insights into the superheating system at play in the moss.
Advances in Understanding Solar Heating
Observations from these instruments integrated with complicated 3D simulations have actually now exposed that electrical currents might add to warming the moss. Throughout this area there is a mess of electromagnetic field lines, like undetectable spaghetti. This tangle of magnetic spaghetti develops electrical currents that can assist heat product to a vast array of temperature levels from 10,000 to 1 million degreesFahrenheit This regional heating in the moss appears to take place in addition to heat streaming from the hot, multi-million-degree overlying corona. This insight, released in the journal Nature Astronomy on April 15, can assist researchers comprehend the bigger concern of why the Sun’s whole corona is a lot hotter than the surface area.
Future Research and Missions
“Thanks to the high-resolution observations and our advanced numerical simulations, we’re able to figure out part of this mystery that’s stumped us for the past quarter of a century,” stated author Souvik Bose, a research study researcher at Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory and Bay Area Environmental Institute, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s SiliconValley “However, this is just a piece of the puzzle; it doesn’t solve the whole problem.”
For that, much more observations are required. Some are coming quickly: Hi- C is set up to introduce once again this month to record a solar flare, and it might likewise record another moss area together with IRIS. However, to acquire observations that can completely resolve how the corona and moss are heated up, researchers and engineers are working to establish brand-new instruments onboard the future MUlti-slit Solar Explorer (< period class ="glossaryLink" aria-describedby ="tt" data-cmtooltip ="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>MUSE</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>The Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) is a panoramic integral-field spectrograph on ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile. It operates in the visible wavelength range and helps astronomers reveal objects that cannot be found in imaging surveys.</div>" data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]" tabindex ="0" function ="link" > MUSE) objective.
IRIS and TRACE belong to NASA’sExplorersProgram
Reference:“Chromospheric and coronal heating in an active region plage by dissipation of currents from braiding” bySouvikBose,BartDePontieu,ViggoHansteen,AlbertoSainzDalda,SabrinaSavage andAmyWinebarger,15 April2024,Nature Astronomy
DOI:101038/ s41550-024-02241 -8
