The corona is the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere and can only be seen by people living on Earth during a total solar eclipse. Its appearance is constantly evolving due to the ever-changing magnetic field of the Sun, and is different with each solar eclipse. But on April 8, new simulations from Predictive Science, a San Diego-based company that develops computer models of the sun and whose research supports many NASA missions, show that , which is said to be particularly surprising.
The simulation revealed a dramatic starburst-like pattern with numerous large ridges, including at 7 o’clock, 10 o’clock, and 2 o’clock. As you approach the solar disk, you can also see some loop-like features.
Predictive science has a history of successfully predicting solar eclipses. However, this eclipse will be more difficult to predict than usual. That’s because his current 11-year solar cycle is near its peak, or maximum, when the sun’s magnetic field is at its most chaotic.
The behavior of this magnetic field is important because it distorts the plasma, the glowing superheated gas that makes up the corona. This glowing plasma follows the sun’s magnetic field.
“The sun’s magnetic flux changes significantly near solar maximum,” John Rinker, president of Predictive Science, said in an interview. “Previously he could do it a month ago [prediction] And another prediction a week ago. But now the sun is very dynamic, so it’s very difficult. We are more ambitious this year in terms of a model that evolves over time. ”
Despite the difficulties in predicting it, Bob Leamon, a NASA researcher specializing in solar physics, said he expects this to be the most spectacular corona in our lifetime.
The corona tends to be of less interest during solar minimums, during solar eclipses, when there are no sunspots on the sun for days or weeks. Sunspots are magnetically enhanced areas on the Sun. The lack of sunspots means a noticeable magnetic field and a fairly simple corona. At the sun’s north and south poles, “polar streamers” of plasma follow magnetic field lines to and from the sun, but there aren’t many loops, prominences, or notable features.
Such was the case during the 2019 total solar eclipse in Chile.
But with solar maximum scheduled for mid-2024, scientists expect the corona to be the most dynamic it can be.
“When solar activity increases, we get more spikes from the sun,” Leamon said. “I think it’s going to be really cool.”
On April 20th last year, a short total solar eclipse caused a 1 minute and 2 second total solar eclipse in the area near Learmonth. It is located on the northernmost tip of Australia. Notice how dynamic Corona was compared to the 2019 solar eclipse.
There’s even more reason why Corona on April 8th could be so special. Two major sunspot groups could distort the corona into even more spectacular shapes.
Of particular interest is the return of AR3590 (AR stands for active region), a sunspot group that produced three top X-class flares in late February. It can rotate back into view from the far side of the Sun, which can produce prominences and large streamers and magnetic loops.
Beyond prominences, we may be able to catch a glimpse of a dramatic solar phenomenon known as a coronal mass ejection (CME). It’s an explosion of plasma and magnetism from a sunspot. CMEs interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, causing the aurora borealis for our viewing pleasure (though it usually takes at least a day or two for the aurora to collide with our magnetic field).
“There’s a very real possibility that we could see the CME moving away from the far side of the sun due to flares or eruptions,” Leamon said. “That would be really nice.”
During a solar eclipse, ground-based observers only observe a few minutes of CME phase, including material moving away from the Sun. The entire eruption lasted more than an hour and he was able to observe by stitching together many images taken by humans and scientific instruments across the total path.
“You might see big bubbles coming out of the sun,” Rinker said. “I think there have been small CMEs in the last few eclipses, too. There have been drawings in the past where people have sketched these bubbles.” Some of those drawings date back to the 1870s, he said. there is.
If it launches right before totality, he hopes time-evolving models can pick it up and predict its behavior and what it will look like.
Predictive Science plans to continually update its Corona predictions as more data becomes available leading up to the eclipse.They are You can access it here.
