An American astrophotographer has taken pictures of a “solar hurricane” equivalent to the height of 14 Earths lined up in a column.
Observing various space objects, astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy was able to capture a giant gush of plasma swirling around the Sun like a real-world hurricane. Also, the photographer took some amazing photos showing the features of our star, writes Universe Today.
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Recently, another powerful explosion occurred on the Sun, from which a stream of plasma erupted. This eruption turned out to be a solar flare from the Sun’s chromosphere, which, under the influence of the star’s magnetic field, turns into a special cycle. This stream of plasma flew to an altitude of about 170,000 km, which means it is 14 times the diameter of the Earth.
According to McCarthy, the plasma in this bulge did not fly further into space, but returned to the surface of the Sun, creating a unique phenomenon.
An astrophotographer used special equipment to photograph this explosion. But each frame is made up of thousands of images put together. McCarthy spent a whole day taking pictures of the Sun. Then a lot of time was spent on image processing, but the result was worth it. The astrophotographer also took photos of the entire Sun, showing our star’s chromosphere and corona.
Although the Sun appears to be a homogeneous body, it has different structural layers like the Earth.
- For example, the lower layer of the Sun’s atmosphere is called the photosphere, and we see it when we look at a star, that is, the visible surface of the Sun. Most of the solar radiation comes from here. The thickness of this layer is about 100 kilometers. For comparison, the diameter of the Sun is 1.4 million km. The temperature in this layer ranges from 3700 to 6200 degrees Celsius.
- The chromosphere of the sun is called the layer located above the photosphere and its thickness is about 2.5 thousand km, and the temperature here is from 6,000 to 20,000 degrees Celsius.
- In the case of solar flares, the temperature of these very bright streams of plasma radiating from the chromosphere far into space is between 4700 and 50,000 degrees Celsius.
- The solar corona is the uppermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere and is only visible during solar eclipses. The temperature in this layer is about 2 million degrees Celsius.
According to a new study, the Sun will begin to peak much earlier than previous forecasts. If previously assumed that the maximum number of plasma explosions and energy emissions will occur in the summer of 2025, the authors of the new scientific study believe that this could happen by the end of this year, as previously stated. Focus.
Recently, solar probes were able to image the huge waterfall of plasma looming above our star. Its size is much smaller than the size of the solar hurricane recorded by McCarthy, but still this flow of plasma is 8 times larger than the diameter of the Earth, as I wrote earlier. Focus.
We remind you that the sun emits ultraviolet radiation, which is dangerous for us and humanity protects the ozone layer on Earth. The results of a new study by scientists have shown that some stars, despite strong radiation, may have planets nearby, where, as I wrote earlier, extraterrestrial life potentially exists. Focus.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.