MODEL SIMULATING THE EVOLUTION OF SOLAR STORMS

The sun constantly shoots its solar material into space. The biggest such events are called CMEs or coronal mass ejections. Often these solar storms come with after some warning, like a gust of heat or a bright flash of light, or a burst of solar energetic particles. But at times, storms that lack any warning signs erupt suddenly.  These puzzling storms are referred to as stealth CMEs. Compared to CMEs, stealth CMEs move in a circulatory pace.

Now, in a NASA-funded research, a team of international scientists has designed a model that simulates the stealthy solar storms’ evolution. Based on the data from STEREO and SOHO (two NASA missions), they fine-tuned their model till the simulations were a lookalike of the space observations. Their work displays a silent and slow process which unpredictably creates an intertwined mass of magnetic fields on the solar surface, which then nips off and hurries into the space- all without any prior alarm.

Such computer models can aid scientists in better comprehending the way sun affects near-Earth space. This would enhance our capability to forecast space weather. This study has been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Content: www.sciencedaily.com