From the National Science Foundation:
Answer lies in jets of plasma
One of the most enduring mysteries in solar physics is why the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, is millions of degrees hotter than its surface.
Now scientists believe they have discovered a major source of hot gas that replenishes the corona: jets of plasma shooting up from just above the Sun’s surface.
The finding addresses a fundamental question in astrophysics: how energy is moved from the Sun’s interior to create its hot outer atmosphere.
“It’s always been quite a puzzle to figure out why the Sun’s atmosphere is hotter than its surface,” says Scott McIntosh, a solar physicist at the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., who was involved in the study.
“By identifying that these jets insert heated plasma into the Sun’s outer atmosphere, we can gain a much greater understanding of that region and possibly improve our knowledge of the Sun’s subtle influence on the Earth’s upper atmosphere.”
The research, results of which are published this week in the journal Science, was conducted by scientists from Lockheed Martin’s Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory (LMSAL), NCAR, and the University of Oslo. It was supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF), NCAR’s sponsor.
“These observations are a significant step in understanding observed temperatures in the solar corona,” says Rich Behnke of NSF’s Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, which funded the research.
“They provide new insight about the energy output of the Sun and other stars. The results are also a great example of the power of collaboration among university, private industry and government scientists and organizations.”
The research team focused on jets of plasma known as spicules, which are fountains of plasma propelled upward from near the surface of the Sun into the outer atmosphere.
For decades scientists believed spicules could send heat into the corona. However, following observational research in the 1980s, it was found that spicule plasma did not reach coronal temperatures, and so the theory largely fell out of vogue.
“Heating of spicules to millions of degrees has never been directly observed, so their role in coronal heating had been dismissed as unlikely,” says Bart De Pontieu, the lead researcher and a solar physicist at LMSAL.
In 2007, De Pontieu, McIntosh, and their colleagues identified a new class of spicules that moved much faster and were shorter-lived than the traditional spicules.
These “Type II” spicules shoot upward at high speeds, often in excess of 100 kilometers per second, before disappearing.
The rapid disappearance of these jets suggested that the plasma they carried might get very hot, but direct observational evidence of this process was missing.
The researchers used new observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on NASA’s recently launched Solar Dynamics Observatory and NASA’s Focal Plane Package for the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on the Japanese Hinode satellite to test their hypothesis.
“The high spatial and temporal resolution of the newer instruments was crucial in revealing this previously hidden coronal mass supply,” says McIntosh.
“Our observations reveal, for the first time, the one-to-one connection between plasma that is heated to millions of degrees and the spicules that insert this plasma into the corona.”
The findings provide an observational challenge to the existing theories of coronal heating.
During the past few decades, scientists proposed a wide variety of theoretical models, but the lack of detailed observation significantly hampered progress.
“One of our biggest challenges is to understand what drives and heats the material in the spicules,” says De Pontieu.
A key step, according to De Pontieu, will be to better understand the interface region between the Sun’s visible surface, or photosphere, and its corona.
Another NASA mission, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), is scheduled for launch in 2012 to provide high-fidelity data on the complex processes and enormous contrasts of density, temperature and magnetic field between the photosphere and corona. Researchers hope this will reveal more about the spicule heating and launch mechanism.
The LMSAL is part of the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, which designs and develops, tests, manufactures and operates a full spectrum of advanced-technology systems for national security and military, civil government and commercial customers.
-NSF-
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Geoff, just visited your site and found the paper I think you were refering to: “Tests of solar spin–orbit coupling” and I’ll read and get back but first I must get some sleep. Long day. I will be interested in what they have to say.
vukcevic says:
January 10, 2011 at 2:30 am
Dr. Svalgaard, tallbloke, Sharp, Scafetta, Wolf, Patrone, Willson and the rest
You are all barking up the wrong tree.
Its all down to the magnetic flux ropes (containing up to 40% of local magnetic energy) shooting not randomly into space, but for the two large magnetospheres, where energy is discharged, analogous to atmospheric discharge heading for lightning conductor.
Who’s barking up the wrong tree?
tallbloke says:
January 10, 2011 at 12:39 am
I don’t think we yet understand electromagnetism sufficiently well to dismiss it as a possibility. NASA scientist Ching Cheh Hung discovered apparent relations between the inner planets motions (which correlate strongly with the timing of the solar cycles) and solar electromagnetic activity. The inner planets seem to act in a way analogous to lightning conductors.
The difference between us is that I think that as well as the inner planets, Venus, Earth, Mars and Jupiter affecting the details of the timing of sunspot production via an electromagnetic mechanism, the outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are responsible for the magnitude of the cycles, via a gravitational mechanism.
I’m not saying the outer planets beyond Jupiter don’t also have an electromagnetic effect, just that the EM effect is stronger in the inner solar system and the gravitational effect is stronger from the gas giants. Jupiter has a foot in both camps owing to its mass and magnetosphere. But who knows, maybe it’ll turn out to be nearly all EM related as you confidently assert.
wayne says:
January 10, 2011 at 2:36 am
If you ever find the mathematics to show me how all of this huge amount of energy that Jupiter’s gravity somehow creates on the sun that affects Earth’s climate without affecting Jupiter’s orbit, I’m all ears. Seems to violate conservation of energy, probably also violating conservation of angular momentum. Now excess energy created (or lacking) from processes from within the sun itself, that’s different.
The energy doesn’t need to come from the planets to power solar activity, same as you don’t need to supply the energy to drive your car when you press the accelerator. The solar fuel provides the energy. All the planets need to do is line up with each other as they orbit to trigger the release of that energy. When you stick your fnger near a Van der Graaf generator, does your finger need to supply energy to make a spark jump to it?
I’m out of this thread now because I don’t want to try Anthony’s patience, but the discussion is continuing on my blog if you are interested.
http://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/wolff-and-patrone-a-new-way-that-planets-can-affect-the-sun/
wayne says:
January 10, 2011 at 3:07 am
Geoff, just visited your site and found the paper I think you were refering to: “Tests of solar spin–orbit coupling” and I’ll read and get back but first I must get some sleep. Long day. I will be interested in what they have to say.
Not sure which paper that is, but not mine, try this link HERE.
Electro-magnetic effect of the inner planets on the Sun is nonexistent (excluding the Earth’s tiny contribution). However the Earth is greatly affected by the Sun’s magnetic events.
Venus & Mars have no significant magnetic field, their effect can be only via gravity force.
Main E-M effect is from Jupiter, its magnetosphere tail extends by 5AU reaching the Saturn’s orbit, with the enhancement from Saturn every19.8 years.
NASA scientist Ching Cheh Hung discovered apparent relations between the inner planets motions (which correlate strongly with the timing of the solar cycles) and solar electromagnetic activity. The inner planets seem to act in a way analogous to lightning conductors.
All nonsense.
Charged particles (electric current) spiral down magnetic field lines into Arctic. No magnetic field no current, magnetic field is required to capture the flux rope. Venus and Mars have none worth mention.
This kind of setup
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/NFC.htm
is also applicable to Jupiter and Saturn, they have permanent auroras , i.e. permanent electric current connection to the solar magnetic field, Venus and Mars do not have anything of a kind.
vukcevic says:
January 10, 2011 at 2:30 am
tallbloke says:
January 10, 2011 at 3:22 am
~
Excuse me..agree in part with the Vuks. Could someone give me a reasonable explanation of WHY the dipole positions and axis of the outer Jovians appear as though they are more often influenced by forces OUTSIDE the solar system than inside. Any of you planetary theorists have that explanation?
Vuks has something ..we’ll probably find that feed back in the gravitational focusing (associatated inflow of 26km/sec as of now) when the Jupiter and Saturn are in the apex regions. Or something like that.
The speeding up and slowing down of the solar system is largely related to the speed, density of the interstellar medium, which changes the pressure of free fall (among other variables).
Ah…Leif, we are keeping an eye on that speed, aren’t weeeeeeee? What a weather vane this system is.
Geoff, Tallbloke:
Couldn’t get to sleep yet. You got me thinking. That paper was interesting and says most things you would expect but it gets to the very end and darn it says:
What a let down. I though that was where it was heading. But here’s what kept me up. Geoff, you sound like you might also have a solar system simulator. Do you. If so here’s a great way to maybe, I say maybe, get some interesting questions not answered but closer to reality. If you don’t, I do and when I get time I will perform this test (in the middle witting some critical code and can’t break for a week or more).
Take a Horizon-like simulator and add four extra tiny test particles along with the planets. Set the initial conditions with these extra particles in orbit about the sun and at an altitude of the sun’s radius, in perfect circular orbit, one every ninety degrees. Just setting up these initial conditions might be a bit of a challenge for the state vectors of the sun’s center at J2000 are not stationary or I don’t think so. Maybe can get horizon to feed them out this way, not sure. I generally start most runs using the J2000 state vectors. Run this forward a few thousand years recording deviations from their expected positions since this is perfectly calculable (less round-off error), some tiny amount I would expect (tidal effects). See if any larger harmonic effects start to appear due the gas planets timed tugs as they orbit.
That would be interesting. Could be very insightful, or, maybe serve a purpose so I can stop spending any more time thinking of barycenters. Still think any effect will be so incredibly small it’s ignorable. BUT, if you guys are right these particles should show some kind of growing larger oscillations. Much like trying to get your car unstuck in the snow. Small timed pushes to start the car rocking, each time larger, your tiny energy multiplying into the harmonic rocking until the ton or two makes it over the hump.
Wish I could make these test points to be stationary to the normal surface and in the normal 27 day rotation, not orbiting, but to such a simulator the ‘sun’ is just a mathematical point and they would immediately fall into it. Boom, close encounter to another VERY massive single point. Math error, halt.
Leif, your Paul Charbonneau link should be:
http://www.leif.org/research/Rise-and-Fall.pdf
Wayne,
“Leif says that acceleration particularly has zero effect on the sun, absolutely zero by itself, that is the ‘free-fall’ or following of the geodesic space-time curve that the gravity creates.”
Rotating objects, objects with structure and extended objects follow paths that deviate from the geodesic.
“All orbits of any bodies experience this and there is nothing ‘felt’”
Imagine each component of an extended body trying to follow a geodesic. There are internal stresses in a rigid or semi-rigid body and differential accelerations in a liquid or gas, and they don’t sum to zero. I think there is a tension between Leif’s dismissiveness of the significance of solar variation and simultaneous dismissal of the scale of GR effects to influence this relatively insignificant variation. Since a relatively small percentage of the solar mass is in the outer layers and surface and relatively small variations in flows seem characteristic of solar variation, and since we don’t know what the characteristic frequencies of the solar dynamo would be independent of planetary influences, it is hubris to be so dismissive. These GR effects aren’t considered in the Wolff paper.
tallbloke says:
January 10, 2011 at 12:39 am
..you can see the ‘wobbles’ in the AM curve at ~1650 1830 and 2003. Give or take a solar cycle or so, these coincide with the Maunder Minimum, Dalton Minimum and the present slowdown in solar activity.
~
The interstellar medium contains ‘tiny scale atomic structures’ TSAS that can be as small as 30AU. These small scale structures also exibit vorticity as well as angular momentum. The solar system hits these with irregularity, and on shorter time scales. Much like the slowdowns in solar activity. I can say, ” give or take a solar cycle,” too.. I can start low and end high. Or start high and end low. .
The planetary theories don’t add up..
For the longer solar journey..
As long as I’m ranting..
Those who COMPLETELY IGNORE the fact that the solar system is embedded in the interstellar medium, within a galaxy.. just freaks me out something bad..
They look only at the short little interglacial period..when in fact there were other periods of solar activity that were much much higher and much much lower than is the case now. (what were the jovians doing then, on hiatas or outside the realm) And it is just swept under the carpet. so what the *!*! is up with that?
One more thing, the best of, so to speak and such that they are records get us back to the Maunder. But the records are skewed, skewed skewed. Spatial distribution on c14 and 10Be come to mind first. The COSMIC RAYDIO ISOTOPE what a skewed up ..
rant over
One question if I may. (try to be nice, ok)
We already know that the heliosphere’s termination shock varies 8-10 AU within a normal? solar cycle. And will fluctuate more during periods of lower solar minimums. What sort of pressure changes are required to bring the termination shock in past the outer jovian planets? Pretty messy out there for a good reason so am just wondering.
Wayne,
“Take a Horizon-like simulator and add four extra tiny test particles along with the planets.”
You might get a qualitative effect similar to that of GR if you can change the simulator so to account for the speed of gravity, during the same time step, more distant particles will be experiencing a planet where they were at an earlier time step than a closer particle. Adding some quadrupole moment to the solar point mass would also help. What we would look for would be changes in the positions of the particles relative to each other, as this might show how gravity waves could be setup within the Sun, and angular momentum transfers might be occurring within the Sun.
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/gr-qc/pdf/0501/0501006v2.pdf
Carla says:
January 10, 2011 at 5:40 am
The solar system hits these with irregularity, and on shorter time scales. Much like the slowdowns in solar activity. I can say, ” give or take a solar cycle,” too.. I can start low and end high. Or start high and end low. .
Draw us a map. 😉
Magnetic flux ropes are direct consequence of the most powerful solar events CMEs. They are huge streams of protons (electric currents) and directly connect into magnetic polar regions of planets. Most powerful probably link into Jupiter and Saturn, both have large permanent auroras.
http://mm04.nasaimages.org/MediaManager/srvr?mediafile=/Size4/NVA2-8-NA/14185/print.jpg&userid=1&username=admin&resolution=4&servertype=JVA&cid=8&iid=NVA2&vcid=NA&usergroup=HUBBLE&profileid=39
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/289659main_pia11396-516.jpg
Occasionally the Earth may get in the way (don’t expect strait line connection) e.g. March 13, 1989 and one of the strongest September 1, 1859.
Magnetic ropes linking into the Arctic have energy of about 5 x 10^14 Joules are tiny in comparison with the big stuff setting off Jupiter’s huge aurora which exceeds 10^20 Joules.
A good introductory article
http://www.astro.gla.ac.uk/nam2010/pr5.php
and selection of science papers:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm08/fm08-sessions/fm08_SH23B.html
Passage through a strong magnetic galactic cloud or an interstellar magnetic shockwave from a supernova explosion would greatly reduce size of the heliosphere from 100 down to single digit AUs. This may have prolonged effect on sunspot activity, specifically if sun was at one of its natural periodic minima (e.g. Maunder min).
vukcevic says:
January 10, 2011 at 2:30 am
the ELECTRO-MAGNETIC events and feedbacks within heliosphere are [the] solution, not the old Newtonian mechanics.
That’s plenty of Power! 🙂
Carla
Supernova event at 10 parsec would compresses the heliopause to about 1 AU (life extinction event)
http://iopscience.iop.org/0004-637X/678/1/549/70881.text.html
Note this would be an electro-magnetic not gravitational cataclysm.
Re: “The interstellar medium contains ‘tiny scale atomic structures’ TSAS that can be as small as 30AU. These small scale structures also exibit vorticity as well as angular momentum. The solar system hits these with irregularity, and on shorter time scales. Much like the slowdowns in solar activity. I can say, ” give or take a solar cycle,” too.. I can start low and end high. Or start high and end low.”
By the way, when you look down the barrel of a Birkeland Current, you will see a cartwheel-like structure. Seen edgewise, you may observe the interstellar filament.
Somebody should correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that in the plasma universe view, these cartwheel structures are likely the result of Marklund Convection.
Conventional theorists tend to ignore the laboratory plasma physics process of Marklund Convection, and not surprisingly, fail to recognize it when they see it in space. But, the theory makes very specific claims about how the elements are radially sorted in these interstellar transmission lines. I believe that the elements are essentially sorted according to their ionization potentials. So, although radio astronomers tend to look at the 21-cm subtle energy state change for hydrogen, they should observe similar filaments of other common elements as well — and even critical ionization velocities for many of these filaments (which is a means of validating that the Marklund Convection is slamming charged particles into neutral clouds of gas, in the process ionizing that material and emitting redshifts at 50 km/s, 35 km/s, 13 km/s and 6 km/s. Verschuur reports that the 35 km/s signal is especially widespread in our region of interstellar space.
But, in conventional circles, theorists still refuse to acknowledge that Verschuur is observing CIV’s. Tom Bridgman has even attempted to claim that since we do not fully understand the underlying cause for the 21-cm HI emission that we somehow can’t trust Verschuur’s findings on CIV’s in space. But for anybody who just wants to know if the space plasmas are electrically conducting, such arguments are not helpful for getting to the bottom of it.
What IS needed is for conventional theorists to brush up on their laboratory plasma physics fundamentals: Marklund Convection, critical ionization velocities, Birkeland Currents, right-hand rule, etc. So long as they refuse to read about these things, they will continue to ignore evidence for their presence in space.
And this is ultimately why you hear so much complaining from those who HAVE read about this stuff: Because it’s really sort of backwards that the public should be having to teach our theorists about plasma physics fundamentals. And that’s why you see so many people speaking up about it all of the time — because there is something very, very big here which the conventional theorists are intentionally ignoring, wasting ALL of our money in the process.
And we know that in the end, once it becomes recognized that the interstellar “clouds” are really electrically-conducting plasma filaments, that one of these days, the theorists will pretend as though it was known all along. But for Christ’s sake, can we please just fast-forward to that point in time?
Re: “NASA scientist Ching Cheh Hung discovered apparent relations between the inner planets motions (which correlate strongly with the timing of the solar cycles) and solar electromagnetic activity. The inner planets seem to act in a way analogous to lightning conductors.
All nonsense.
Charged particles (electric current) spiral down magnetic field lines into Arctic. No magnetic field no current, magnetic field is required to capture the flux rope. Venus and Mars have none worth mention.”
Wal Thornhill goes into some detail on this planetary charge-transfer mechanism on his holoscience site (http://www.holoscience.com/news.php?article=q1q6sz2s). There is basically a very simple physical mechanism for explaining the solar system orbits, based upon charge transfer between two planets when they are at “opposition”.
We can presumably use this technique to predict global Martian dust storms. He states:
“Many planetary plasma tails have been found to brush across the plasma sheath of the planet in the next outer orbit. This brushing constitutes an intermittent circuit for transferring charge between adjacent planets when they are aligned with the Sun.”
Is it really nonsense?
Seems like a simple physical mechanism to me, based upon laboratory plasma physics fundamentals.
Re: “I still think there’s a fair chance that in the next ten years, there will be the beginnings of a paradigm shift involving the incorporation of some element of EU, and would enjoy a wager about that. But I can’t make a tight list of things, not least because my technical prowess isn’t of a high standard (which is a good reason why in a number of areas, I am necessarily an agnostic).”
This is a common response amongst people who honestly dig into the evidence and arguments, without trying to argue against it each chance they have. It is a completely different — and notably simpler — explanation for our universe.
But, I propose that the true game changer will ultimately be the creation of a system for predicting hazardous solar events. Verschuur has demonstrated that we can monitor these interstellar filaments. The big question is: Can we correlate emissions of those interstellar filaments with energetic solar eruptions? Because, if we can, then nobody will care about these debates we’re having. People will just switch to the more predictive model if it can be made to work where others have not.
vukcevic says:
January 10, 2011 at 9:29 am
Carla
Supernova event at 10 parsec would compresses the heliopause to about 1 AU (life extinction event)
http://iopscience.iop.org/0004-637X/678/1/549/70881.text.html
Note this would be an electro-magnetic not gravitational cataclysm.
~
Let’s not assume that I am necessarily looking for the big end all one here, Vuks.
Lets’s just reduce the speed of the heliosphere from 26km/sec to
24km/sec
or 22km/sec.
What would the density, speed and temp (pressures) need to be to reduce the heliosphere speed?
Now did I read somewhere that as little as 28km/sec ‘interstellar’ wind have a profound affect? Where would that put the termination shock of the heliosphere.
The interstellar changes in the vicinity don’t necessarily need to be dramatic. But in the more dramatic scenarios the changes seem to be more readily grasped.
There seeems to be a lack of helium in the vicinity, they say helium is recycling back in from our source, so the outside stuff mostly H is heavier.
But tanks Vuk.