In a new study, scientists have found small, short-lived brightenings in the Sun’s atmosphere that appear in the hours before a major solar flare erupts and cluster around the very spot where the flare later occurs.
The study was carried out by researchers from the Manipal Centre for Natural Sciences and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, along with scientists from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the Department of Space, and other academicians. Complementing SUIT are two X-ray instruments, the Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS) and the High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS), which measure the X-ray emission produced by energetic processes in the solar corona. Combining these data, scientists study how activity in the lower solar atmosphere is linked to energy release in the corona during the build-up to a flare,” ISRO stated.
Because earth’s atmosphere absorbs most ultraviolet radiation, “NUV wavelengths are largely inaccessible from the ground.
The findings provide valuable insights into the physical processes that trigger solar flares and move scientists a step closer towards reliable flare forecasting, which will ultimately contribute to better space weather prediction; help protect satellites, astronauts, and communication systems; and other critical technologies.
