Although many people think that the sun is a ball of fire far away in the sky, astronomers know: : Every move of this plasma 150 million kilometers away can affect the fate of the earth.
The latest images of the sun's surface show that the area of a sunspot numbered AR3038 has doubled in 24 hours, This means that the "freckles" on the sun's face can already fit 2.9 Earths , and Considering its unstable magnetic field, if this large sunspot facing the earth erupts with flare in the future, all electrical equipment on the earth will suffer.
So what are sunspots and how are they formed?
From the perspective of stellar physics, yellow dwarfs represented by the sun are actually the easiest to describe and understand celestial bodies in the universe, because they are composed of only two elements: hydrogen and helium, plus at most A little heavy element.
The high-purity element composition determines that no matter how big a star is, it still maintains a simple hydrogen element nuclear fusion reaction inside. Therefore, all activities of a star from its core to its outer atmosphere can be traced back to the nuclear fusion reaction. Cause, sunspots and solar flares erupt is no exception.
So-called sunspots are actually magnetic field vortices generated by the outermost layer of the sun driven by internal nuclear fusion energy. They are like water vortices formed by strong stirring under the lake. The only difference is that sunspot vortices have very The strong magnetic field makes the temperature of the area where the sunspot is located slightly lower than the normal surface of the sun next to it. This temperature difference ultimately creates the dark appearance and movement characteristics of the sunspot.
Generally speaking, there are a group of small sunspots permanently stationed on the surface of the sun. According to the rule that solar activity experiences a peak every 11 years, sunspots will also develop and decline accordingly. Sunspots during the peak period It can even be seen by humans on earth with the naked eye. For example, ancient Chinese reports on witnessing sunspots:
Western Han Dynasty The sunspot phenomenon seen in March in the first year of Heping of Emperor Cheng (28 BC) is recorded in "Hanshu·Five Elements": "The first year of Heping of Emperor Cheng... At the end of March, the sun rises yellow, and there is black air as big as money, located in the center of the sun. "
Due to its strong magnetic field and long existence cycle, large sunspots often evolve from simple sunspots into solar flares, also. That is, very powerful
However, for ancient human civilizations without electronic technology, solar flares that mainly affect the ionosphere will not affect daily life . At most, people living in high latitudes will see more auroras. That’s all.
However, with the popularization of radio and electrification since the 19th century, , the outbreak of sunspots and solar flares has become a disaster that human civilization has to guard against.
According to records, the largest flare outbreak and solar storm in history occurred in 1859. The flare energy released by the sun at that time was equivalent to 10 billion megaton nuclear bombs . When this energy flew at the speed of light, it would take 8 minutes 20 After arriving on Earth in about seconds, the communication system of human civilization, which was still in the telegraph era, was instantly paralyzed.
The ionosphere, which was severely disturbed by solar storms, produced auroras in the polar regions that were brighter than the full moon. The light was so bright that even sailors on the Garbi Sea could see it.
The only good news at the moment is that the recent AR3038 solar flare that doubled in size within 24 hours is only a medium flare, with a level of only M. is still a long way from the highest level of X, and as the sun itself With its rotation, this sunspot or flare will gradually change into a shape facing away from the Earth.
However, astronomers know clearly: Since the current solar activity has entered a new peak period, sunspots with larger areas and longer duration will definitely appear in the future. By then, the space environment that the earth will face in space will be It will be very bad.
Take the currently highly developed Internet as an example. If another X-class solar flare like the one in 1859 occurs in the future, then the global Internet will be destroyed in an instant , and even all electrical equipment on the earth will be paralyzed. Human civilization will briefly return to the living standards of the early industrial revolution.
Therefore, astronomers are still very concerned about every move of the sun. The Parker Solar Probe of the United States and the Xihe Solar Probe of my country are also continuing to observe and collect data on the sun. strive to detect large flares Early warning information is sent back to Earth before an explosion occurs.
