Scientists Use NASA Data to Predict Solar Corona Before Eclipse
The powerful magnetic field of the Sun defines these strands, causing them to ripple and evolve their structures constantly
The strands are faint, however, so the only way to observe the corona with the naked eye is during a total solar eclipse.
The solar corona is our star’s outer atmosphere. It “extends out into interplanetary space as the solar wind,”
this wind blows out to the edges of the solar system. “It envelopes the planets,” Linker said, “including Earth.”
As Earth and other planets bathe in coronal outflow, their atmospheres react to the energetic particles and magnetic fields found within the solar wind
This reaction, called space weather, can range from mild to severe, just like terrestrial weather
Extreme space weather events, such as large solar eruptions called coronal mass ejections
Space weather is one of the most tangible effects of the Sun’s dynamic exterior, and creating accurate forecasts is something scientists are striving toward
SDO and other solar observatories provide detailed insights about the corona, but scientists are still missing some vital information
To build their model, researchers at Predictive Science use measurements of the Sun’s changing magnetic field at the solar surface to drive their model in near real-time.