The collaboration between a solar observation satellite and an acoustic rocket telescope allowed scientists to test the strength of the Sun’s magnetic field. Experts, through a third of NASA missions, published their study in Advances in science.
(Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
The chromosphere lies between the photosphere, or bright surface of the sun that emits visible light, and the fully-heated corona, or outer atmosphere of the sun at the source of a solar explosion. The chromosphere is a key link between these two regions and a variable is required determining the magnetic structure of the sun.
The Sun still holds a lot of mystery for astronauts, despite being the brightest star in the sky. It is widely agreed that magnetic fields play an essential role in heating the solar corona. But specific information about this method is not yet certain. Knowing the magnetic field of the chromosphere, found on the visible level of the Sun, is crucial to solving the puzzle.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the National Astronomical Observatory in Japan, the French Institute of Space Astrophysics and the Instituto de Astrofísica of the Spanish Canarias analyzed the data collected over six and a half minutes from a test rocket test CLASP2.
Above the active level of an area and its surroundings, they determined the long stretch of the magnetic field. The scientists examined the signature of the magnetic field on the ultraviolet light of the chromosphere to do this.
In the lower, middle and upper regions of the chromosphere, the high-profile CLASP2 data allowed scientists to study the power of the magnetic field. At the same time, data collected from the Japanese satellite for Sun Hinode observation revealed information about the magnetic field of the photosphere itself. Scientists have discovered that the magnetic field of the coating is highly organized in the photosphere but expands, mixes and dissipates easily in the chromosphere. The findings of the research put scientists better at unraveling how energy is transferred to the corona from the lower layers of the Sun by magnetic fields.
Magnetic field analysis
NASA said that institutions from France, Japan, Spain and the United States have developed a new strategy to measure the magnetic field of the Sun chromosphere despite its invisibility.
WHICH CAN: Did the reversal of a 42,000-year magnetic field cause a climate catastrophe?
They installed their solar observatory on an acoustic rocket to fly a modified instrument in 2015, so named for the marine term to measure the importance of sound.
For a brief, few-minute observation, acoustic rockets launch into space before returning to Earth. They are also the perfect platform to develop new concepts and revolutionary methods, cheaper and easier to develop and fly the larger satellite missions.
The team took advantage of Zeeman’s influence, a century-old technique, to measure the power of a magnetic field.
The first application by astronomer George Ellery Hale to Zeeman’s influence on the Sun was in 1908, when we discovered that the sun was magnetic. Zeeman’s influence, all interesting engineering, refers to the fact that celestial lines break into multiples in the presence of strong magnetic fields. The further apart they differ, the stronger the magnetic field will be.
Nevertheless, the turbulent chromosphere seems to show “smear” celestial lines. Therefore, it was impossible for scientists to tell how far apart they had separated, which is why previous missions had difficulty measuring. A break from CLASP2 was to work around this limitation by measuring “circular polarization,” a small change in the direction of light that occurs as part of a Zeeman effect.
The CLASP2 team was able to work out, by carefully measuring the degree of circular polarization, how far apart these smear lines need to be broken, and how strong the magnetic field was.
WHICH CAN: Can lost birds read the earth’s magnetic field to find their way back?
Check out more news and info on it Location on Science Times.