5 min read<\/p>\n
NASA, ESA Missions Help Scientists Uncover How Solar Wind Gets Energy<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Since the 1960s, astronomers have wondered how the Sun\u2019s supersonic \u201csolar wind,\u201d a stream of energetic particles that flows out into the solar system, continues to receive energy once it leaves the Sun. Now, thanks to a lucky lineup of a NASA and an ESA (European Space Agency)\/NASA spacecraft both currently studying the Sun, they may have discovered the answer \u2014 knowledge that is a crucial piece of the puzzle to help scientists better forecast solar activity between the Sun and Earth.<\/p>\n
A paper published in the Aug. 30, 2024, issue of the journal Science provides persuasive evidence that the fastest solar winds are powered by magnetic \u201cswitchbacks,\u201d or large kinks in the magnetic field, near the Sun.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur study addresses a huge open question about how the solar wind is energized and helps us understand how the Sun affects its environment and, ultimately, the Earth,\u201d said Yeimy Rivera, co-leader of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, part of Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. \u201cIf this process happens in our local star, it\u2019s highly likely that this powers winds from other stars across the Milky Way galaxy and beyond and could have implications for the habitability of exoplanets.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/switchbacks-sun-web.gif\")
<\/a><\/figure>Previously, NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe found that these switchbacks<\/a> were common throughout the solar wind. Parker, which became the first craft to enter the Sun\u2019s magnetic atmosphere<\/a> in 2021, allowed scientists to determine that switchbacks become more distinct and more powerful close to the Sun. Up to now, however, scientists lacked experimental evidence that this interesting phenomenon actually deposits enough energy to be important in the solar wind.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout three years ago, I was giving a talk about how fascinating these waves are,\u201d said co-author Mike Stevens, astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics. \u201cAt the end, an astronomy professor stood up and said, \u2018that\u2019s neat, but do they actually matter?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n To answer this, the team of scientists had to use two different spacecraft. Parker is built to fly through the Sun\u2019s atmosphere, or \u201ccorona.\u201d ESA\u2019s and NASA\u2019s Solar Orbiter mission is also on an orbit that takes it relatively close to the Sun, and it measures solar wind at larger distances.\u00a0<\/p>\n The discovery was made possible because of a coincidental alignment in February 2022 that allowed both Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter to measure the same solar wind stream within two days of each other. Solar Orbiter was almost halfway to the Sun while Parker was skirting the edge of the Sun\u2019s magnetic atmosphere.<\/p>\n<\/figure><\/figure>