Magnetic Trees help researchers unearth hidden flow in the Sun’s upper atmosphere

Researchers have discovered a hidden connection between the Sun’s surface and its upper atmosphere, providing new insights into the processes that drive space weather.

• The findings improve scientists’ understanding of solar activity that can affect satellites, communication systems, navigation networks and power grids on Earth.

Key Findings

• Scientists have long known about the meridional flow, a slow movement of hot plasma from the Sun’s equator toward the poles.
• This flow acts like a giant conveyor belt, transporting the Sun’s magnetic fields across its surface and playing a crucial role in the 11-year solar cycle, which governs the formation of sunspots and other solar activity.
• Earlier, the meridional flow had been observed only in the Sun’s lower atmospheric layers.
• The new study shows that this plasma flow continues much higher into the Sun’s atmosphere than previously believed, establishing a direct link between the Sun’s surface and its upper layers.
• Researchers found that bright radio-emitting features in the Sun’s upper atmosphere move poleward in close synchrony with the transport of magnetic fields.
• This indicates that structures in the Sun’s upper atmosphere remain magnetically connected to deeper layers beneath the surface.

Magnetic Tree Hypothesis

• The findings provide strong observational evidence for the “Magnetic Tree” hypothesis.
• According to this hypothesis, magnetic structures extending high above the Sun’s surface remain connected to deeper layers, just as the branches of a tree remain connected to its trunk and roots.
• The study suggests that the Sun’s upper atmosphere is not isolated, but preserves information about motions occurring deep within the Sun.

Source: PIB

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