NASA's Parker Solar Probe Uncovers Possible Source of Powerful Solar Winds

NASA's Parker Solar Probe has uncovered breakthrough information on the source of the intense plasma explosions that characterize rapid solar winds.

The spacecraft made a risky dive into the sun's atmosphere and discovered coronal holes, colder parts of the sun's atmosphere, where were emitted thin plasma streams led by magnetic fields, Science News reported. Researchers have found a link between these streams and the rapid solar wind phenomena, which was published in Nature on June 7.

The solar wind has long been divided into "slow" and "fast" speeds because it is an uninterrupted stream of charged particles from the sun. The cause of the rapid solar wind was not previously known.

The plasma from above the coronal holes may move more than 10 times faster than protons, electrons, and atomic nuclei, which make up most of the solar wind and blow at tremendous rates.

What did the Parker Solar Probe discover?

Switchbacks, phenomena where magnetic fields near the sun change direction, are strongly related to these fast plasma streams. Switchbacks happen when extended field lines and magnetic field loops close to the sun's surface interact, causing a severe bend that launches plasma into space as it straightens out.

Researchers claim that the degree of kinking in the reconnecting field lines affects how energetic the streams are. Switchbacks with sharp bends provide more significant energy streams than switchbacks with older, smoother kinks.

According to astronomer Stuart Bale from the University of California, Berkeley, the evidence for magnetic reconnections as the origin of rapid solar winds is strong yet circumstantial. The latest findings challenge the accepted notion of wind energization, which predicts acceleration farther from the sun, showing that solar wind may reach high speeds near the sun.

The Importance of Understanding Solar Winds

Understanding the solar wind's origins is essential for forecasting solar storms, which may harm electrical networks and satellites while creating breathtaking auroras on Earth. Scientists may learn more about how the sun releases energy and causes geomagnetic storms that endanger communication networks by determining the mechanics driving solar winds, per Phys.org.

As the solar wind travels 93 million miles (150 million km) to reach our planet's magnetic field, it becomes a uniform flow, making it impossible to study the more profound features of the solar wind from Earth.

Launched in August 2018, the Parker Solar Probe has made several close encounters with the sun, traveling up to 365,000 mph (587,000 kph) and as close as 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km). This relative closeness enables the probe to gather information about the solar wind before it disperses, according to Space.com.

The spacecraft approached the sun in 2021 at around 5.2 million miles (8.4 million km), speeding through jets of material rather than just turbulence. The team pinpointed the source of these jets as supergranulation cells and concentrated magnetic fields on the sun's photosphere.

The Parker Solar Probe is ready to reveal more about the sun's secrets as it continues its close encounters and prepares for peak solar activity in July 2025.