Let’s face it: trying to say what will be seen someday is a lot harder than explaining what is being observed. In a new paper in Science Advances, researchers David Brooks and Stephanie Yardley study a family of high-energy particles from the Sun and find that as a group, they match the plasma located low in the Sun’s corona. 

According to Yardley: In our study, we have observed for the first time exactly where solar energetic particles come from on the Sun. Our evidence supports theories that these highly charged particles originate from plasma that has been held down low in the Sun’s atmosphere by strong magnetic fields. These energetic particles, once released, are then accelerated by eruptions that travel at a speed of a few thousand kilometers a second.

When these particles reach the vicinity of Earth, they have the potential to do nasty things to spacecraft and electronics and even cause a bit of a health hazard to astronauts and people in airplanes! Yardley goes on to explain: Energetic particles can arrive at Earth very quickly, within several minutes to a few hours, with these events lasting for days. Currently, we can only provide forecasts of these events as they are taking place, as it is highly challenging to predict these events before they occur. By understanding the Sun’s processes better we can improve forecasts so that, when a major solar storm hits, we have time to act to reduce risks. 

Here is to hoping that no big storm is coming soon, but if it does, it’s nice to know what part of the Sun we should be watching.

More Information

University College London press release

“The source of the major solar energetic particle events from super active region 11944,” David H. Brooks and Stephanie L. Yardley, 2021 March 3, Science Advances