Capturing Solar Wind: How Two Spacecraft Harness Waves for Heat and Acceleration

An exciting discovery has been made through a⁣ fortuitous alignment of two spacecraft studying the sun, potentially unraveling a long-standing solar mystery. The revelation suggests that ⁢Alfvén waves ⁤play a crucial role in heating and accelerating the ‍solar wind, according to Jean Perez, ⁣a plasma physicist at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. This⁣ breakthrough sheds light on the solar wind’s behavior as it travels through the solar system, a phenomenon that has puzzled scientists since the early ⁤days of space exploration.

For years, researchers have ‌observed the solar wind’s acceleration and temperature changes as it expands into space, with measurements deviating from theoretical predictions. Alfvén waves, previously detected near the sun, ⁢are magnetic field oscillations in the solar plasma that could ‌explain ⁣these discrepancies. These waves, sometimes forming “switchbacks,” appear to possess the energy needed to account for the solar wind’s speed and temperature‌ variations, providing a missing link in our understanding ‌of⁣ this complex process.

2024-08-29 13:00:00
Read more about this groundbreaking discovery on www.sciencenews.org