Source of potentially hazardous high energy solar particles found

During coronary 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 a fast solar wind.

These particles are highly energetic and, if they arereach the Earth's atmosphere, not only generate auroras, but can potentially disrupt the operation of satellites, creating a risk of radiation exposure to people in orbit and in aircraft.

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

Our data support the hypothesis that thesehighly charged particles originate from plasma held in the sun's atmosphere by strong magnetic fields. These particles are then accelerated by plasma eruptions that travel at a speed of several thousand kilometers per second.

Stephanie Yardley, author of work from the Mallard Space Research 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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