The sun enters a new phase of unexpected activities

When solar activity reached its lowest level in year 2, astronomers reasonably assumed that the sun was entering a period of low historical activities. But they were wrong.

New research on September 9 in the journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters Published shows that year 2 has been the beginning of a continuous increase in solar activity. This “return” goes beyond the known 5 -year cycles that the sun usually follows. Specifically, researchers have been a gradual increase in many key “vital factors” of the sun, such as abundance Solar winds And the power of its magnetic field has observed.

Investigating solar symptoms

Jimmy YassinskyThe main author of this study and researcher NASA In the laboratory His propulsion jet“All the signs were that the sun entered a long phase of short -term activities,” said in a statement. So it was amazing to see the return of this process. The sun is slowly waking up. “

Solar cycle (A nearly 5 -year period, which is characterized by increasing and decreasing the number of solar spots), is a known phenomenon. The sun’s magnetic field reverses its polarity once every 5 years and returns to its original state after completing the complete two cycles. This 6 -year -old magnetic phase as Hill cycle (Hale Cycle) is known.

Of course, like many other astronomical patterns, this rule also has exceptions that scientists have not yet fully understood. Yassinsky said numerous historical records show clear evidence of long periods of abnormal solar activities that have lasted from 2 to 5 years.

According to the researchers, it is much more difficult to predict these trends, but the data collected from the 1980s clearly showed that the sun “goes to a period of historical peace.” However, a more careful examination of solar activity after the year (when solar activity reached its lowest unprecedented limit) revealed an obvious return from the weakening process.

Solar activity and spatial climate

“After year 2, the solar wind reduction process ended,” Yasinsky explained. Since then, the plasma and magnetic field parameters have been increasing continuously. ” The analysis of the researchers shows that the sun is likely to “recover” from a 5 -year decline in solar activities. Between years 1 and 2, the key solar wind indicators – including speed (about 1 %), density (about 1 %), temperature (about 1 %) and thermal pressure (about 1 %) – have increased continuously. This shows that the recent period of weak solar activity may have been a “exceptional case” in the wider long -term process of the sun.

The sun is at the center of our solar system. Whenever the star throws out radiation eruptions or plasma bubbles, they feel the planets of heat literally. Strong solar activity can compress the protective magnetic shield around each planet, including the Earth. This makes the earth more vulnerable to severe radiation and plasma eruptions that come from the sun. When this happens, Space climate It can destroy satellite networks and electricity networks on the ground. For space missions, direct exposure to space climate phenomena can be harmful to the health of astronauts and spacecraft, so NASA has to better understand the nature of these events.

An upward trend and an uncertain future

Technological advances allow scientists to record solar activity in better detail than ever. However, the new article shows that the second look is always worth a try, especially when we are faced with the quiet and fleeing behavior of our host star. In this article, the authors pointed out that “the continuous (4 -year) increase in the dynamic pressure of the solar wind, the consequences in the solar environment.

This upward trend has passed before the 5 -year border, indicating that the sun is currently in one of those unusual and prolonged cycles. The researchers said when and how the process would end, it is still unclear. “Long -term trends are much less predictable and there are something we have not fully understood yet,” Yasinsky added.