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Solar science
2013 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form
without permission from the publisher. www.Astronomy.com
A
The Solar Dynamics Observatory launches
from Cape Canaveral February 11, 2010, atop
an Atlas V rocket with a Centaur upper stage.
These colorful Suns show our stars appearance July 28, 2010, at five
wavelengths in the extreme ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum. By observing the Sun at different high-energy wavelengths,
solar scientists will learn how the Sun converts energy in its magnetic
fields into the heat that drives solar flares. NASA/SDO/AIA Science Team
A massive solar prominence (upper left) erupts from the Sun March 30,
2010. Scientists created this false-color, multiwavelength image with data
from the Solar Dynamics Observatory. The orange-red background images
on this page show the Suns chromosphere that same day in the light of
ionized helium (a wavelength of 30.4 nanometers). NASA/SDO/AIA Science Team
www.Astronomy.com
25
On March 30, 2010, a large prominence erupted on the Suns limb and spewed hot gas into space at speeds of approximately 435 miles per second (700
km/sec). This sequence of six images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the eruption lasted only a couple of hours. The observatory captured
these images in the light of singly ionized helium (a wavelength of 30.4 nanometers). NASA/SDO/AIA Science Team
As soon as the
detectors reached
operating
temperature, the
Sun put on a show.
Wavelength: 30.4nm
Wavelength: 21.1nm
Wavelength: 19.3nm
Wavelength: 17.1nm
Wavelength: 13.1nm
February 1, 2011
Wavelength: 450nm
The Suns character changes when viewed at different wavelengths. In visible light (far left), its photosphere typically reveals sunspots. But at shorter
wavelengths in the extreme ultraviolet, the Suns outer atmosphere (its chromosphere and corona) come into view. NASA/SDO/AIA Science Team
heit (70 Celsius), an enormous prominence erupted off the Suns limb. (See the
sequence of images above and the large
photo on page 25.)
The images show that the ring-shaped
prominence sent a pulse of plasma rushing away from the Sun at a speed of about
435 miles per second (700 km/s). Before
the eruption, this prominence was a long
tube of magnetically contained material
just above the visible surface. Then, by
some still poorly understood mechanisms, it destabilized and created a small
Wavelength: 30.4nm
Wavelength: 21.1nm
Wavelength: 19.3nm
Wavelength: 17.1nm
Wavelength: 13.1nm
Wavelength: 450nm
A double rainbow arcs above one of the 18-meter radio dishes at NASAs White Sands Complex in
New Mexico. Because the Solar Dynamics Observatory lies in geosynchronous orbit, the antennas
here can receive all of the observatorys data. NASA/Tim Gregor
A Valentines Day solar flare erupted from a sunspot group located just to the lower right of the Suns center. The group shows up nicely in visible light (far
left). At shorter wavelengths, the flares brightness dominates. This February 14 event was the Suns largest flare in more than 4 years. NASA/SDO/AIA Science Team
www.Astronomy.com
27
Active region 11092 (the bright maelstrom halfway to the limb in the 10 oclock direction) flared several times August 1, 2010, but that was just the start.
Shock waves raced across the solar surface, disrupting the dark filaments visible above the Suns center. At about 4:40 a.m. EDT, one of these filaments
launched a coronal mass ejection toward Earth. These images show gas glowing at 1.5 million kelvins (a wavelength of 19.3nm). NASA/SDO/AIA Science Team
Sunspot number
150
100
50
Solar Cycle
23
0
2000
2005
Solar Cycle
24
2010
Year
2015
2020
The August 1, 2010, flare (white area at upper left) launched a shock wave whose edge appears at
upper right. This view combines data from three extreme ultraviolet wavelengths. NASA/SDO/AIA Science Team
www.Astronomy.com
29
Stellar astrophysics
2013 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form
without permission from the publisher. www.Astronomy.com
Is the
an oddball star?
Accepted wisdom holds that the Sun is an ordinary,
run-of-the-mill star. But astronomers are having a hard
time finding true solar twins. by Bruce Dorminey
25
Multiple sunspot groups dot the Suns surface October 28, 2003, when activity from solar
cycle 23 remained quite high. SOHO (NASA and ESA)
A single small sunspot mars an otherwise
bland surface on the Sun February 2, 2010.
The current solar cycle (number 24) got off to
a later-than-normal start and has yet to ramp
up significantly. SOHO (NASA and ESA)
A sunspot group may comprise dozens of individual spots. Each spot typically contains a dark
central region called the umbra, which is up to 2700 F (1500 C) cooler than the surrounding
photosphere, and a lighter outer region called the penumbra. Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Little Ice Age brought unusually cold weather to much of northern Europe from 1500 to 1850. In this 1565 painting by Pieter Bruegel,
a crowd skates on a frozen river. The lack of sunspots during the
Maunder minimum may have exacerbated this 350-year cold spell.
Maunder minimum, says Chapman, we may start seeing some cooling effect. However, scientists still debate the specific effects of such
grand minima. Part of this debate hinges on lingering questions
about how Earths atmosphere amplifies such solar variabilities.
As a result, the National Solar Observatorys Frank Hill says,
theres a disconnect between solar physicists and climatologists.
Both solar physicists and climatologists need to come together
about the impact of solar activity on climate, says Hill. B. D.
www.Astronomy.com
27
quiescent than most stars, says Giampapa. But cycles in Sun-like stars in M67
could be quite similar to our Sun.
And a little quiescence might not be so
bad. Were near the end of our ropes here
now, says astronomer Edward Guinan of
Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
Thats because even though the Sun is
only about halfway through its 10-billionyear hydrogen-burning lifetime, its
increasing luminosity will make Earth
uninhabitable much sooner perhaps
within the next 500 million years.
Hot gas traces the Suns magnetic field lines as they arc above the solar surface. Essentially all solar
activity arises from magnetic forces acting beneath, at, and above the surface. TRACE/NASA/GSFC
Sunspot number
200
A history of sunspots
Dalton
minimum
100
Maunder minimum
1600
1650
1700
1750
1800
Year
1850
1900
1950
2000
Typical solar cycles last about 11 years, but the strength of each cycle varies considerably. This illustration plots the yearly average sunspot numbers
since 1610, when detailed observations began. During the Maunder minimum from 1645 to 1715, virtually no spots appeared. Astronomy: Roen Kelly
This obscure star in Draco, HIP 56948, is the closest thing to a solar twin
astronomers have discovered. The 9th-magnitude star lies just north of the
Big Dippers bowl. Bill and Sally Fetcher
www.Astronomy.com
29
How
the Sun
will die
When Sun-like stars
exhaust their fuel,
they cast off shells of
gas, creating colorful
fireworks. by Bruce Balick
38 Astronomy December
without 08
permission from the publisher.
www.Astronomy.com
39
The Ant Nebula (Menzel 3) resembles a garden-variety ant. This Hubble image reveals the ants body as a pair of fiery lobes protruding from a dying
Sun-like star. The Ant Nebula lies in the southern constellation Norma approximately 3,000 light-years away. NASA/ESA/The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
40 Astronomy December 08
Revealing a planetary
The Retina Nebula (IC 4406) exhibits a high degree of symmetry; the left and right halves are nearly
mirror images of each other. Gas and dust form a vast doughnut of material streaming outward from
the dying star. One perplexing feature of IC 4406 is the irregular lattice of dark lanes that crisscross
the nebulas center. We see them in silhouette because their density is 1,000 times greater than the
rest of the nebula. NASA/The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)/C. R. ODell (Vanderbilt Univ.)
41
Elliptical
Butterfly
Early
NGC 6891
M192
Abell 39
NGC 3918
NGC 6501
NGC 2438
NGC 6886
TYPE
IC 3568
Middle
Late
NGC 6302
Outer halo
Inner halo
Central cavity
Bright rim
The success of the first models of planetary nebulae elated astronomers in the
1990s, but it didnt last long. As Hubble
produced more images, the complexity of
the structures soon led to humility. Weve
made a good start, but the quest to
understand the shapes of planetary nebulae continues. Of particular interest are
the small knots, which dont readily form
in the lovely, regular patterns. Another
area of interest is planetary nebulae with
more than one symmetry axis. And then
theres the question of shapes.
The same shapes appear for planetary
nebulae as for preplanetary nebulae
round, elliptical, and butterfly. However,
half of the preplanetary nebulae are ellipticals with dust lanes cutting through
their centers. For planetary nebulae, only
10 percent are bipolar, and none show
dust lanes. Something happens to morph
or distort their shapes, providing astronomers another challenge. Astronomers
also wonder why planetary nebulae have
such a narrow range of shapes.
The shapes are also strikingly symmetrical. One popular idea is that a companion star exerts a gravitational tug on
the loosely bound outer layers of a red
giant star, or perhaps the giant swallows
its companion when it starts to bloat.
In the former case, the tidal forces on
the outer layers drag them toward the
rapidly orbiting companion star for the
duration of the final helium flash. However, by the time the giants material
reaches the companion, it has moved on.
So most of the material just keeps going
outward in a spiral pattern, like water
from a sprinkler. This forms a tightly
wound one-armed spiral in a thin disk.
Moreover, some of the material falls onto
the companion and forms an accretion
disk around it if the companion star is
Magnetic fields (left, yellow lines) become twisted as a star about to form a planetary nebula
rotates. Charged particles spiral along the yellow lines as they flow outward. The fields guide these
particles along the stars spin axis. The white and red regions of the right panel show where the particles will flow. The white rectangular area at the center is probably the only region sufficiently dense
enough for Hubble to detect. Both images: Sean Matt (University of Virginia)/Adam Frank and Eric G. Blackman (Rochester University)
Looking forward
43
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2013 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form
www.Astronomy.com
34 Astronomy September
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www.Astronomy.com
35
Deep freeze
This Hinode image provides the sharpest-ever look into a modest sunspot about 4 times Earths
size. Rising and falling cells of hot gas create the mottled appearance, called granulation, of the
Suns normal surface. Sunspots appear dark because their strong magnetic fields suppress rising
columns of hot gas and allow the spots to cool. JAXA/NASA/Hinode
The superstorm likely would come sometime between 2010 and 2012, near the
peak of the Suns activity cycle. The most
favorable months would be March
or September,
the
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satellite storm packed 4 tim
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37
Making headlines
ellites
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a day
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The ne ould reach $2 sources.
alone c revenue and re
in lost
atmosphere, they
would initiate nuclear reactions
with oxygen and nitrogen atoms. The
result would be showers of high-speed
neutrons, many of which would reach the
ground. Computer systems would crash
as so-called sudden event upsets violate
the integrity of binary information stored
in memory.
Lucky break?
Earths
deadly
future
2013 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form
without permission from the publisher. www.Astronomy.com
29
Sun
Today
Venus
0.72 AU
Earth
1.00 AU
Mars
1.52 AU
Sun and planetary orbits shown
to scale; planet sizes not to scale
Venus
0.93 AU
Earth
1.17 AU
Mars
1.85 AU
Earth
1.61 AU
Mars
2.46 AU
As the SUN ages, it will lose some of its mass. This trend will accelerate when it becomes a red giant, and grow even greater when it
swells into an asymptotic-giant-branch star. This mass loss will cause the orbits of the planets to migrate outward. Astronomy: Roen Kelly
30 astronomy
july 07
Crystal-ball gazing
ICY EUROPA could prove to be a watery haven in the distant future, when increasing
solar radiation will render the inner planets uninhabitable. NASA/JPL
Monster star
31
32 astronomy
july 07
Supersize me
As with all nuclear reactions, a small temperature increase causes a big jump in the
reaction rate. Thats why the Sun will burn
through its helium fuel so rapidly. Then,
WHEN THE SUN DIES, it will puff off its outer layers in a final blaze of glory. The resulting
planetary nebula, like NGC 2440 seen here, will last about 50,000 years. NASA/ESA/K. Noll (STScI)
33
Can we send
a spacecraft to
the Sun?
NASAs proposed Solar Probe
stretches technology and
material science to their torrid
limits. BY david j. mccomas
2013 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form
without permission from the publisher. www.Astronomy.com
This mission would answer some of the most vexing questions about our star: What heats the corona
(the Suns outer atmosphere) to millions of degrees?
How does the corona transition into the supersonic
outflow of ionized gas known as the solar wind?
SOLAR PROBES close approach to the Sun will test its thermalprotection system. Here, the glowing cone points toward the Sun
and shields the spacecrafts instruments. LYNETTE COOK FOR ASTRONOMY
www.astronomy.com
43
SOLAR ECLIPSES once were the only way to study the Suns
corona. During totality, the Moon covers the solar photosphere
(the Suns visible disk), leaving only its delicate outer atmosphere
in view. During the February 26, 1998, eclipse, observers could see
inclined streamers and polar plumes. NCAR/HIGH ALTITUDE OBSERVATORY
44 astronomy
December 06
IMAGES FROM the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) show the coronas evolution during the rising phase of a solar cycle. As activity increases, streamers originate from
higher solar latitudes, not just the Suns equator. SOHO
9 Rs
+ 8h
Primary shield
7.4 Rs
Support struts
+ 6h
5.9 Rs
+ 4h
4.6 Rs
Secondary shield
THIS SCHEMATIC of the Solar Probe spacecraft shows the three main
components of the thermal-protection system: the primary and secondary shields and the struts. Engineers constructed each component using
a carbon-carbon composite material, which is ultra-heat-resistant.
astronomy: rOEN KELLY, AFTER JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY/NASA
4 Rs
+ 2h
Approaching
the Sun
Closest
approach
45
46 astronomy
December 06
the corona at a time when the Sun was moderately active, with some
hot (red) active regions in both hemispheres, surrounded by cooler
(green and blue) coronal plasma. In contrast to TRACE, which images
the Sun from Earth orbit, Solar Probe will provide the first-ever closeup views of the Suns corona. STANFORD-LOCKHEED INSTITUTE FOR SPACE RESEARCH/NASA
47
ASTRONOMY MAGAZINE
HOW to view Mays unusual SOLAR ECLIPSE p. 48
May 2012
ALIEN LIFE?
The inside story from Seth Shostak, the man who will know first p. 24
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