CME is Coronal Mass Ejection.
Sun Researchers May Crack 70 Year Old Mystery
Why Is The Sun's Corona Hotter Than The Sun Itself?
Added by
Georgina Pijttersen on July 13, 2013.
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Georgina Pijttersen,
Science
Tsunami are not limited to earth, this phenomenon has now also been sighted on the Sun, of all places. The tsunami consists of heightened magnetic field and hot, ionized gases which race across the Sun at about 400km per second. These tsunami also help cause the release matter into space, and therefore might be causing the corona surrounding the sun to be hotter than the sun surface. Therefore the researchers involved in the analysis of the data from the satellites which captured this phenomenon might have cracked a 70 year old mystery. In addition studying the effects of the sun tsunami, the matter they release into the sun�s corona and the sun orbit itself, might be an invaluable source for understanding how this all will affect Earth, and crack it�s mysterious effects on our planet. The satellites can�t just take photographs in a regular way because this would not capture everything that is going on with the Sun. The satellites have instruments which notice, and can analyse ultraviolet light which the sun emits. Humans can�t register these colors but the satellites can. This ultraviolet light gives us information about the chemical makeup and extreme physical conditions of the Sun.
David Long of University College London and teammates spotted the waves coming from the tsunami and going into the Sun�s corona. Therefore making them the Sun�s researchers who may crack the 70 year old mystery surrounding the Sun�s corona, and why it�s hotter than the rest of the sun. The waves coming off the tsunami and going into the corona are called EIT. David said to the BBC: �These EIT waves are quite tricky � they�re very random and they�re relatively rare,� he added, �We need to be in the right place at the right time; this has been a long time coming. This tells us a lot about the nature of the Sun and what goes on in the atmosphere,� Dr Long went on to explain.
�These waves are quite important because they�re associated with CMEs that fire plasma out into the heliosphere, toward the Earth. Generally we see them when there�s a CME coming straight at us � but when it�s coming straight at us then it�s quite difficult to measure how fast it�s coming at us or how strong it is,� Long stated, �So by looking at these waves, we should be able to infer how powerful these CMEs are going to be.�
The research hasn�t been completed yet. The researchers haven�t been able to totally crack the 70 year old mystery into why the Sun�s corona is hotter than the core temperature. It is said that the Sun�s core is some 15,000,000C, but the Sun�s surface is below 6,000C. Meanwhile the corona is known to be at a temperature in excess of 1,000,000C. Which is very odd indeed. It does seem that they are on the right track and that we will soon be able to report that indeed the Sun tsunami are responsible for changing the temperature of the Sun�s corona.