Source of potentially hazardous high energy solar particles found

During coronal ejections, the magnetic energy accumulated in active regions on the Sun is spent on

acceleration of huge masses of matter. 

Particles of solar energy are released from the Sun's corona in huge clouds of plasma and magnetic field, forming the fast solar wind.

These particles have high energy and, if theyreach the Earth's atmosphere, not only creating auroras, but also potentially disrupting the operation of satellites, creating a risk of radiation exposure for people in orbit and on airplanes.

The new work has confirmed the hypothesis that the slow solar wind and high-energy solar particles come from different sources.

 Our data confirm the hypothesis thatthat these highly charged particles come from plasma trapped in the Sun's atmosphere by strong magnetic fields. These particles are then accelerated by eruptions of plasma that travel at speeds of several thousand kilometers per second. 

Stephanie Yardley, author of the paper from the Mallard Space Science Laboratory

The authors also analyzed the composition of solarparticles of high energy and found that they have the same chemical signatures as the plasma of the chromosphere - the lower part of the solar atmosphere: increased content of silicon and lower - sulfur.

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