BBC News Science and Environment
New solar cloud identified after space
weather study
The aurora borealis is created by the effect of solar weather on the Earth
A new form of solar cloud has been identified by research into "space
weather" led by Dundee University.
Dr Miho Janvier worked alongside colleagues in Paris and Buenos Aires to study
a new kind of magnetic cloud emanating from the Sun.
The cloud is a smaller, distinct version of those caused by solar flares which
produce aurora borealis on Earth.
The discovery comes as the Met Office launched a dedicated forecast centre to
study solar storms.
The Sun is constantly releasing a "solar wind" of particles into the heliosphere,
the area that defines the solar system.
Events on the surface of the star such as solar flares can send a storm of
particles across the solar system at the speed of light, accompanied by huge
magnetic clouds, which cause the aurora borealis and aurora australis effects in
the Earth's atmosphere.
Such solar storms have also been known to knock out power supplies and
present a radiation hazard to spacecraft and astronauts, and have become the
focus of several studies.
The Sun constantly ejects a stream of particles known as "solar wind"
Dr Janvier, a fellow in the division of mathematics at Dundee University, has
identified a different kind of cloud emanating from the Sun, distinct from those
kicked up during solar flares.
"We already knew there were these large magnetic clouds generated by solar
flares," she said.
"We also knew that smaller magnetised structures existed, but what we have
found is that they have a completely different origin.
"These smaller clouds have different characteristics which meant they must be
generated in a different place, or in a different way.
"They must be coming from the Sun, but we are not sure yet where in the Sun's
atmosphere they are being born."
The European Space Agency is to deploy a solar orbiter probe to study the sun
Dr Janvier said it was important the new clouds are included in future studies of
space weather and how it can affect Earth.
"The important thing is that these new structures we have identified should not be
neglected when we are examining space weather and the potential effects it may
have on us," she added.
"We have to extend our vision of what is happening in the solar system and what
we want to understand and predict."
The study was carried out alongside Pascal Démoulin of the LESIA Observatoire
de Paris in France, and Sergio Dasso at the University of Buenos Aires.
The European Space Agency is aiming to launch a probe into orbit around the
Sun in 2017 to gain a greater understanding of solar physics.
Reference
BBC (2014) New Solar cloud identified after space weather study ‘http://www.bbc.co.uk accessed
16/10/2014