2023-05-08 19:19:55
The Sun and its activity have been making headlines for a couple of years: from intense flares to solar eruptions that cause powerful geomagnetic storms. Even fire canyons that rise up to 20,000 kilometers high, a strange ‘snake’ crossing or ‘bonfires’ on the surface of our star. What is happening? Is the Sun changing?
“Actually, all this is normal,” Javier Rodríguez-Pacheco, professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Alcalá (UAH) and principal investigator of EPD, the acronym for the Energetic Particle Detector instrument, explains to ABC. aboard the Solar Orbiter probe, the European mission that will try to reveal the mysteries of our star. “We’re going up in solar cycle activity, and as we get closer to solar maximum, more and more flares are expected. Although it is true that in this particular cycle we have been surprised by the great activity of our star”, he adds.
Stars are huge, electrically charged balls of extremely hot fluid. This electrical charge moves, generating powerful magnetic fields. Every eleven years or so (not always an exact number, a question that puzzles scientists), this magnetic field ‘flips’: the north and south poles swap positions. And, after another eleven years, they return to their place. Each one is a cycle and, also in each one, there is a solar maximum and minimum in which the activity of the star increases and decreases. Scientists can tell what phase the Sun is in because of the number of spots that can be seen on its surface.
In these periods of maximum activity, the number of spots increases and also the probability of flares or coronal mass ejections. These eruptions send powerful ‘jets’ of matter and energy into space, causing solar storms. On Earth, the most common thing is that we feel this power through the aurora borealis, the colorful luminescence in the sky caused by the interaction of these charged particles sent by our star and our atmosphere. This is common near the poles, since our magnetic field, a kind of natural ‘protective layer’ of our planet, is weaker at these points, and deforms it; however, with stronger solar storms, the magnetic field changes even more, causing these auroras to be visible in places where they are not usual.
In fact, at the end of this month, the photographer Lorenzo Cordero was capturing in Estremadura one of these colorful luminaries, although they were also observed in Texas, Arizona or low latitudes in Asia. It is not the first time either: there are reports that even from Madrid’s Gran Vía these phenomena were recorded. However, this is the ‘kinder’ part: in the most extreme events, damage to radio communications, terrestrial electrical networks and even put satellites out of action (in fact, SpaceX reported a case in which forty of his Starlink ‘satellite soldiers’ were literally ‘fried’ by a solar storm).
An unexpectedly intense cycle
We are currently in cycle 25 (the Sun’s activity has only been scientifically monitored since 1755, so we currently have data for only 24 complete cycles), which officially began in December 2019, NASA and the Office announced. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States (NOAA). «Previously we saw weaker and weaker solar cycles (and that we left behind left a ‘quiet’ period: the maximum number of sunspots was 116, compared to an average of 179), so initially the forecasts pointed to this would also be, “says Rodríguez-Pacheco. However, it was not.
A study led by experts from the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and published in the journal ‘Solar Physics‘ He has already predicted eleven more ‘moved’ years, with between 210 and 260 maximum spots, which would place him in the ranking of the most active ever observed. “But the predictions have fallen short,” says the UAH astrophysicist. So short that there are even those who point out that the maximum will be brought forward to the end of 2024, a year earlier than expected.
“We are observing that the activity continues to grow and, moreover, very fast,” says Rodríguez-Pacheco, who explains that the moment in which the most powerful solar events occur is not at this peak, but immediately after. “It is as if the magnetic energy that is stored there takes a little longer to release. It is precisely at the end of the cycle when the most intense events are observed.
We must not be afraid, but prepared
Still, the astrophysicist points out that you have to stay calm. “You don’t have to be worried, just be prepared. And that’s what science is for. We cannot control nature, but we can understand it.” One of the tasks of Solar Orbiter, the probe that carries Rodríguez-Pacheco’s instrument, will be to offer new clues about the functioning of our star and see, for example, what happens at the poles, where no mission has approached so far. .
“Based on the data from this mission, we will be able to refine the models, understand what happens in these solar cycles and be able to better predict them,” says Rodríguez-Pacheco. “The best thing is to be prepared, because at some point, sooner or later, we will be hit by a severe storm,” she says. In fact, it has already happened in the past: these phenomena have disrupted the telegraph in North America and Europe and blacked out Broadway for hours.
The most powerful solar storm ever recorded is known as the Carrington event, discovered by Richard Carrington in 1859. The Earth’s magnetic field was completely distorted, allowing in a solar flare that caused immense aurora borealis and outages in the fledgling telegraph network. transoceanic There are even studies that indicate that geomagnetic storms are more common than thought. However, the astrophysicist calls for calm: “If the appropriate measures are taken, its harmful effects will be mitigated.”
#worry #strange #phenomena #occurring #surface #Sun