(Source: PIB)
Context: Researchers from ARIES, in collaboration with Indian institutions and NASA, have discovered that the Sun’s meridional plasma flow extends into the upper chromosphere, providing the first observational evidence supporting the magnetic tree hypothesis. The finding improves understanding of the solar dynamo and space weather, which can affect satellites, communication, navigation, and power grids on Earth.
Explanation
- The Sun consists of the Photosphere (visible surface), Chromosphere, Transition Region, and Corona; its atmosphere is composed of hot ionized gas called plasma.
- Meridional flow is a slow poleward movement of plasma that transports magnetic fields across the Sun and helps regulate the 11-year solar cycle.
- The Solar Cycle is the periodic rise and fall of the Sun’s magnetic activity approximately every 11 years, influencing sunspots, solar flares, and other energetic events.
- The Solar Dynamo generates the Sun’s magnetic field through plasma motion and differential rotation, driving solar flares, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and space weather.
- The Magnetic Tree Hypothesis proposes that magnetic structures in the Sun’s upper atmosphere remain connected to deeper solar layers, like branches connected to the trunk and roots of a tree.
- The study used the Nobeyama Radioheliograph (Japan), demonstrating how radio astronomy can probe the Sun’s internal dynamics and validate the magnetic tree hypothesis.
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