Newly published research could help predict when “powerful solar storms” will hit.
According to Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, an international team of researchers discovered that the sun’s magnetic field begins about 20,000 miles below its surface. Previously, the magnetic field was thought to originate 130,000 miles below its surface.
According to NASA, the sun’s magnetic field is created by a magnetic dynamo located within it. This study aimed to prove that the dynamo actually starts near the sun’s surface. Researchers hope that a better understanding of the sun’s dynamo can help predict future solar flares.
This work proposes a new hypothesis about how the sun’s magnetic field is created that better matches solar observations and, hopefully, can be used to make better predictions of solar activity,” said study co-author Daniel Lecoanet, a assistant professor of engineering sciences and applied mathematics, researcher in the McCormick School of Engineering and member of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Research in Astrophysics.
It’s an age-old question that astronomer Galileo Galilei tried to answer, but hundreds of years later, researchers say they found the answer and published the findings in the journal. Nature.
Understanding the origin of the sun’s magnetic field has been an open question since Galileo and is important for predicting future solar activity, such as flares that might hit Earth, Lecoanet said.
What is a solar flare?
A solar flare is a burst of radiation that is produced by the sun and can result in solar storms
Recently, the same powerful solar storm that created the spectacular Northern Lights seen across North America hit farmers’ equipment at the height of the planting season. Machinery and tools that rely on GPS, such as tractors, have had problems and have had problems navigating.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also warned it could cut off communications.
Beautiful and harmful
While solar flares can cause phenomena such as the aurora borealis that grabbed attention in early May, they can also cause a lot of damage. That’s why it’s important for researchers to be able to predict when they will strike.
“Although this month’s intense solar storms produced beautiful and extended views of the Northern Lights, similar storms can cause intense destruction,” the school said in a statement.
According to the university, solar flares can damage the following:
- Satellites in earth orbit
- Electricity networks
- Radio communications.
How was it calculated?
For their study, the researchers performed complex calculations on a NASA supercomputer to find out where the magnetic field is created.
To understand where these flares originate, the researchers ran “state-of-the-art numerical simulations to model the sun’s magnetic field,” the school says.
This new model now takes torsional oscillations into account. It is related to magnetic activity and is a phenomenon on the sun “in which the solar rotation periodically speeds up or slows down at certain latitudes, while elsewhere the rotation remains essentially constant,” another study said.
The sun is great asset
The Sun is at its solar maximum, which means it is reaching the height of its 11-year cycle and is at its highest degree of solar activity.
People can expect to see more solar flares and solar activity, including solar storms.
Contributed by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY
Julia is a trends reporter for USA TODAY. She has covered topics ranging from local businesses and government in her hometown of Miami to technology and pop culture. You can connect with him on LinkedIn or follow himX, formerly Twitter,InstagramandTikTok: @juliamariegz
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