By Amit Malewar 14 Sep, 2024
Collected at: https://www.techexplorist.com/detailed-maps-suns-coronal-magnetic-fields/89677/
The corona is the Sun’s outer atmosphere, where magnetic mysteries occur. Understanding and mapping coronal magnetic fields is crucial for predicting space weather and protecting our technology.
Measuring the corona’s magnetic properties has been challenging, but the Inouye Solar Telescope, the most advanced solar telescope, has made a significant breakthrough. Built by the U.S. National Science Foundation, it has successfully mapped the strength of the magnetic field in the solar corona.
This breakthrough promises to enhance our understanding of space weather and its impact on Earth’s technology-dependent society.
The Inouye Solar Telescope has created its first detailed magnetic field maps of the solar corona using the Zeeman Effect. This technique observes how magnetic fields cause spectral lines—unique lines of light emitted or absorbed by atoms—to split. These lines are like “fingerprints” that help scientists determine celestial objects’ chemical composition and physical properties. By studying the splitting of these lines, scientists can learn about the magnetic properties of the Sun.
Previous efforts to detect these signals, as reported two decades ago, lacked the detail needed for a thorough study. Today, the Inouye Solar Telescope can, thanks to its advanced capabilities, conduct detailed, regular studies.
The Inouye uses coronagraphy to create artificial eclipses, allowing it to detect faint polarized signals—one billion times fainter than the Sun’s light. This makes it incredibly sensitive and a unique tool for studying the Sun.
One of its main instruments, the Cryogenic Near-Infrared Spectropolarimeter (Cryo-NIRSP), was designed and built by the University of Hawai’i Institute for Astronomy. It helps the Inouye map the magnetic fields of the solar corona.
Dr. Carrie Black, NSF program director for the NSO, said, “Just as detailed maps of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere have enabled more accurate weather prediction, this thrillingly complete map of the magnetic fields in the Sun’s corona will help us better predict solar storms and space weather. The invisible yet phenomenally powerful forces captured in this map will propel solar physics through the next century and beyond.”
Christoph Keller, NSO Director, remarks, “Mapping the strength of the magnetic field in the corona is a fundamental scientific breakthrough, not just for solar research, but for astronomy in general.” He anticipates, “This is the beginning of a new era where we will understand how the magnetic fields of stars affect planets, here in our own solar system and in the thousands of exoplanetary systems that we now know about.”
Journal Reference:
- Thomas A. Schad, Gordon J.D. Petrie, Jeffrey R. Kuhn, Andre Fehlmann, Thomas Rimmele, Alexandra Tritschler, Friedrich Woeger, Isabelle Scholl, Rebecca Williams, David Harrington, Alin R. Paraschiv, Judit Szente. Mapping the Sun’s coronal magnetic field using the Zeeman effect. Science Advances, 2024; 10 (37) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adq1604
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