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Friday, March 29, 2024

Watch a Solar Snake Travelling across the Sun’s Surface

A wavy stream of plasma can be seen passing through the Sun

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Russell Chattaraj
Russell Chattaraj
Mechanical engineering graduate, writes about science, technology and sports, teaching physics and mathematics, also played cricket professionally and passionate about bodybuilding.

UNITED KINGDOM: The Sun which is nearly a hot ball of plasma, is still experiencing upheavals at this time. The 11-year cycle of it’s biggest star is currently in progress. As a result, the Sun’s activities, including Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), have increased. 

A wavy stream of plasma can be seen passing through our own star in another instance of this. It appears as though a snake has just unexpectedly moved through a garden. European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter contributed to the creation of this video.

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A long magnetic field filament with a stream of cold plasma streaming along it is what you are seeing. Plasma is a state of matter that is so hot that its electrons are stripped away, leaving it with an electrical charge.

Nevertheless there you have it, relatively cool plasma. It can interact with magnetic fields, including those in the Sun’s atmosphere, due to its electrical charge.

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The European Space Agency claims that on September 5th, Solar Orbiter observed the event. This orbiter in the Sun in February 2020 was sent into orbit to view, and it is currently observing the Sun from a distance of 42 million kilometres. 

Even while the wavy plasma stream appears to pass through the Sun in a matter of seconds in the video, the actual travel time was closer to three hours. This doesn’t necessarily imply that the plasma stream was moving slowly.

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The Sun is so enormous that a stream travelling through it travelled 3 hours at a speed of 105,000 kilometres per hour. The plasma, according to David Long of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, is moving from one side to the other. 

Since the magnetic field of the Sun is distorted, the plasma is likewise moving in this distorted direction. It gives the impression that a snake is passing over our own star.

However, the researchers are concerned about the new finding. They propose that the coronal mass (CME) ejection caused the plasma to come from a location of the Sun.

During CMEs, massive amounts of plasma are ejected into space. It can trigger brief radio blackouts if it enters the atmosphere of Earth.

Also Read: JWST Takes Stunning Images of a Hidden Protostar

Author

  • Russell Chattaraj

    Mechanical engineering graduate, writes about science, technology and sports, teaching physics and mathematics, also played cricket professionally and passionate about bodybuilding.

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