Tiny Coronal Jets Appear to Power the Solar Wind

Jan. 11 () –

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission has uncovered new clues to the origins of the solar wind, a continuous stream of charged particles released by the Sun that fills the solar system.

Observations from multiple space-based and ground-based observatories show that the solar wind could be largely powered by mini-jets at the base of the corona, the Sun’s upper atmosphere. This finding is helping scientists to better understand the 60-year-old mystery of what heats and speeds up the solar wind.

According to Nour Raouafi, study leader and Parker Solar Probe project scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, “these new data show us how the solar wind gets started at its source.” “You can see the flow of the solar wind coming from tiny million-degree jets of plasma all around the base of the corona. These findings will have a huge impact on our understanding of the heating and acceleration of the coronal plasma and the solar wind.”

Understanding the solar wind is critical to understanding our solar system and other systems in the universe, and is the primary science goal of the Parker Solar Probe mission. Made up of electrons, protons, and heavier ions, the solar wind traverses the solar system at a speed of about 1 million kilometers per hour, reports NASA.

When the solar wind interacts with Earth’s magnetic field, it can create impressive auroras, as well as disruptions to GPS and communications systems. Over time, the solar wind and stellar winds from other solar systems can also affect the composition and evolution of planetary atmospheres, and even influence the habitability of planets.

On Earth, the solar wind is usually a steady breeze. Therefore, scientists have been looking for a stable source on the Sun that could continuously feed the solar wind. However, the new findings -accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal and published in ArXiv- show that the solar wind could be largely energized and powered by individual jets that erupt intermittently at the bottom of the corona. Although each mini-jet is relatively small – only a few hundred kilometers long – their collective energy and mass could be enough to create the solar wind.

According to Craig DeForest, a solar physicist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and co-author of the new paper, “This result implies that all solar wind is probably released intermittently, becoming a constant stream, just as the Individual applause in an auditorium becomes a constant roar as the audience applauds.” “This changes the paradigm of how we think about certain aspects of the solar wind.”