Spicules Make Sun’s Outer Atmosphere Hotter Than Its Surface?
January 10th, 2011 | Related entries: Space
For long scientists have been attempting to shed light on the mysterious solar physics that makes the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona hotter than its surface. Well, it seems that the following investigation has found out the precise reason behind this. Researchers from the Lockheed Martin’s Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), NCAR, and the University of Oslo claim to have laid hands on a major source of hot gas that replenishes the corona.
Throughout the research, experts have focused on highlighting the way energy is moved from the Sun’s interior to create its hot outer atmosphere. Jets of plasma called spicules that are known as fountains of plasma propelled upward from near the surface of the Sun into the outer atmosphere were thoroughly assessed. Type II spicules are believed to shoot upward at high speeds, generally in excess of 100 kilometers per second, before disappearing. The rapid disappearance of these jets may indicate that the plasma carried get very hot. However, scientists didn’t have direct observational evidence of this process at hand.
Scott McIntosh, a solar physicist at the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., who was involved in the investigation, said, “It’s always been quite a puzzle to figure out why the Sun’s atmosphere is hotter than its surface. By identifying that these jets insert heated plasma into the Sun’s outer atmosphere, we can gain a much greater understanding of that region and possibly improve our knowledge of the Sun’s subtle influence on the Earth’s upper atmosphere.”
In order to gather evidence of the research predictions, new observations on the Japanese Hinode satellite were scrutinized. The high spatial and temporal resolution of the newer instruments appeared important in revealing this hidden coronal mass supply. The findings enlighten about the seeming one-to-one connection between plasma that is heated to millions of degrees and the spicules inserting this plasma into the corona.
The research is published in the journal Science.