MESSENGER Solves Solar Flare Mystery - 0 views
-
the MESSENGER spacecraft was able to capture a average-sized solar flare
-
allowing astronomers to study high-energy solar neutrons at less than 1 astronomical unit (AU) from the sun for the first time
-
Previously, only the neutron bursts from the most powerful solar flares have been recorded on neutron spectrometers on Earth or in near-Earth orbit
- ...17 more annotations...
-
results help solve a mystery of why some coronal mass ejections produce almost no energetic protons that reach the Earth, while others produce huge amounts
-
inferred the continuous production of protons in the 30-to-100-MeV (million electron volt) range due to the flare
-
MESSENGER’s Neutron Spectrometer was able to record neutrons from this flare over a period of six to ten hours
-
Solar flares spew high-energy neutrons into interplanetary space. Typically, these bursts last about 50 to 60 seconds at the sun.
-
forms an extended seed population in interplanetary space that can be further accelerated by the massive shock waves produced by the flares
-
About 90 percent of all ions produced by a solar flare remain locked to the sun on closed magnetic lines
-
at other times they’re in locations where the protons are accelerated in directions that don’t take them near Earth
-
Energetic protons from solar flares can damage Earth-orbiting satellites and endanger astronauts on the International Space Station or on missions to the Moon and Mars.
-
scientists need to know a lot more about the mechanisms that produce flares and which flare events are likely to be dangerous
-
At some point they hope to be able to predict space weather — where precipitation is in the form of radiation — with the same accuracy that forecasters predict rain or snow on Earth.
-
The beauty of MESSENGER is that it’s going to be active from the minimum to the maximum solar activity during Solar Cycle 24