New research brings light to star mystery

Northumbria research brings light to star mystery
Magnetic loop structures in the corona of the Sun. The loops highlight the Sun’s magnetic field and are visible because they support the dense, million degree gas typical of the corona. The image is courtesy of the Science Team for NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory.

(Phys.org)—Scientists at Northumbria University have begun to unlock the mystery of why the outer edge of the Sun is much hotter than its surface for the first time.

A team led by Northumbria's Dr Richard Morton, and including researchers from the University of Sheffield and Queen's University Belfast, have used cutting-edge solar-imaging technology to observe the Sun's chromosphere – a region of the Sun's atmosphere sandwiched between its surface (photosphere) and outer layer (corona) – to an unprecedented level of detail.

For years astronomers have looked for the elusive mechanism that causes some to have a corona that is almost 200 times hotter than their , despite being further away from the at the star's core. It is believed that the cause of the increased temperature is due to magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves that distribute the energy generated below the star's surface to the outer layers of the Sun's atmosphere

Now, for the first time, the team has examined the MHD waves using a UK-designed dedicated solar-imaging telescope known as Rapid Oscillations in the , or ROSA, to observe the chromosphere with a high degree of clarity. The powerful tool enabled some of the highest resolution images of the chromosphere to be obtained, allowing the scientists to study the speed and power of the waves and then estimate the amount of energy that they transport.

Their calculations confirm that the MHD waves could be responsible for transporting energy from below the , out through the chromosphere, into the corona and leading to heating of the outer layers in excess of a million degrees.

Dr Morton said: "The Sun is our closest star and provides a unique opportunity to study the properties of stars in detail. Stars generate heat through in their core and the temperature decreases towards the star's surface. However, a significant number of stars have higher temperatures at the outer edges of their atmospheres than they do on their surface.

"Our observations have permitted us to estimate the amount of energy transported by the magnetic waves, and these estimates reveal that the ' energy meets the energy requirement for the unexplained temperature increase in the corona."

Northumbria University has launched a new Physics with Astrophysics degree, which will begin in September 2013. The course will teach aspects of modern astrophysics, including modules on the Sun and its properties.

The team's findings have been published in Nature Communications, an online journal.

Journal information: Nature Communications

Citation: New research brings light to star mystery (2013, February 4) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2013-02-star-mystery.html
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