NASA's Parker Solar Probe Peers Into the Sun, Uncovers Source of Solar Wind

NASA's Parker Solar Probe, or PSP, was able to move close enough to the Sun for it to pick up solar wind's fine structure that is close to where the winds were generated over the solar surface.

Parker Solar Probe Moves Close to the Sun

In a recent study, researchers reported that the PSP was able to detect high-energy particle streams that aligned with flows of supergranulation inside coronal holes. This suggests that such regions could be where "fast" solar wind comes from, Phys reports.

CNN notes that the PSP moved within a 13-million-mile radius of the sun. It was from such a distance that it was able to make such structural detections. The unique findings were included in the Nature journal.

The craft was also specifically designed to soar 4 million miles over the surface of the Sun. It was also the first to touch the Sun back in 2021.

One key motivation for the mission was to find out what the solar wind looks like as it forms close to the Sun and escapes the gravity of the star. Knowing where and how the solar wind comes from can help with solar storm predictions. Though these storms may produce auroras that decorate the sky, they may also disrupt electrical grids and satellites across the planet.

Solar Wind and Its Potential Origins

According to CNN, solar wind refers to a plasma outflow that is continuous. This contains particles that are charged, such as electrons and protons. The phenomenon also covers part of the magnetic field of the Sun and stretches beyond the star's corona. It interacts with the interstellar medium and other planets.

There are mainly two kinds of solar wind. Fast solar wind streams out of coronal holes at the poles of the Sun. Its peak speed reaches 497 miles per second. Slow solar wind, on the other hand, has a calmer flow of 249 miles per second. It is also situated on the same solar system plane as the Earth.

While fast solar wind does not usually affect Earth, the magnetic field of the Sun ends up flipping during the peak of the Sun's 11-year solar cycle. Such flips make coronal holes appear over the solar surface and burst solar wind directly towards the Earth.

James Drake, one of the study leaders and a scientist from the University of Maryland-College Park, explains that winds carry rich information from the Sun toward the Earth. Hence, knowing the mechanisms of such winds is vital for practical reasons.

According to the team's analysis, the coronal holes are similar to showerheads, in which jets show up over the solar surface looking like bright spots. As the magnetic fields move past each other, they end up breaking and then reconnecting. This makes the particles fly out of the Sun.

Physics professor Stuart Bale, another lead author from the University of California, Berkeley, explains that the photosphere is coated with convection cells. "Larger-scale convection flow" is referred to as supergranulation. When supergranulation cells interact and move downward, the magnetic field ends up getting dragged into their path. The field then intensifies due to jamming.

Professor Bale explains that the big conclusion of the study is that magnetic reconnection inside the funnel structures offers a source of energy for fast solar wind. He adds that it does not originate from the entire coronal hole. Rather than that, it is substructured inside coronal holes for such supergranulation cells. It comes from such magnetic energy bundles linked to convection flows. The researchers think that such results serve as strong evidence that reconnection is working behind the scenes.

Check out more news and information on the Sun in Science Times.