In basic term , the Sun does n’t make sense . Its photosphere , the outer shield from where light is radiated , has a temperature of about 5,600 ° one C ( 10,000 ° farad ) . Above it , there is the solar corona , which is in the millions of level . How the solar Saint Ulmo’s light is heated to such incredible temperatures remains a mystery . A novel paper has found a potential germ – and it ’s from the coldest part of the photosphere : thesunspots .
These region are coolheaded than the average photosphere and are due to the charismatic field of the Sun protruding from the interior . They are sour because they are cooler than their milieu . They are also the site of major magnetic events such as solar flares andcoronal mass ejection .
The squad used the 1.6 - meter ( 5.2 - animal foot ) Goode Solar Telescope ( GST ) at Big Bear Solar Observatory ( BBSO ) to study feature called blood plasma fibrils . The fibrils are locate in the dark part of the sunspot , the umbra , and have magnetic field more than 6,000 time stronger than Earth ’s own . And they appear to deliver enough magnetic energy to explain the heating in the Saint Ulmo’s light .
" Fibrils appear as strobile - shape structure with a typical summit of 500 - 1,000 kilometers [ 310 - 620 air mile ] and a width of about 100 km [ 62 miles ] , " Vasyl Yurchyshyn , professor of heliophysics and BBSO elderly scientist said in astatement . " Their lifespan ranges from two to three minutes and they tend to reappear at the same location within the dreary parts of the umbra , where magnetized field are potent . "
" These dark dynamic fibrils had been observed in the macula umbra for a longsighted time , but for the first time , our squad was able to detect their sidelong oscillations that are manifestations of libertine waves , " Wenda Cao , BBSO director and physic professor who is co - author of the study , add together . " These persistent and ubiquitous thwartwise wave in strongly magnetised fibril bring energy upwards through vertically elongated charismatic conduits and contribute to the heating system of the upper atmosphere of the Sun . "
The fibrils ' role is intriguing but the squad admits that even if this process can excuse the heating over sunspots , it is not an all - encompassing mental process to explain the heating of the whole corona . The mystifier continues .
" The coronal heating system problem is one of the biggest mysteries in solar physics inquiry . It has existed for nearly a hundred , " Cao uphold . " With this study we have refreshed answers to this problem , which may be cardinal to untangling many confusing question in energy expatriation and dissipation in the solar atmospheric state , as well as the nature of blank space weather condition . "
The study is release inNature Astronomy .
