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MAGNETIC BRIDGE:
Sunspots AR1528 and AR1529 appear to be far apart. More than 200,000 km of stellar surface separate the two. Nevertheless, they are connected by a tubular bridge of magnetism. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) photographed the vast structure on July 24th:
Sunspots AR1528 and AR1529 appear to be far apart. More than 200,000 km of stellar surface separate the two. Nevertheless, they are connected by a tubular bridge of magnetism. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) photographed the vast structure on July 24th:
This extreme ultraviolet image traces the bridge via the glow of hot plasma it contains. Material can flow back and forth inside the tube, allowing one sunspot to respond to what the other is doing.
Researchers once thought that sunspots were independent operators, but SDO has shown over and over again that widely-spaced sunspots can be linked. An eruption in one can set off an explosion in another, leading to a chain reaction that can spread around the circumference of the sun. The global eruption of August 2010 is a memorable example.
www.spaceweather.com
Researchers once thought that sunspots were independent operators, but SDO has shown over and over again that widely-spaced sunspots can be linked. An eruption in one can set off an explosion in another, leading to a chain reaction that can spread around the circumference of the sun. The global eruption of August 2010 is a memorable example.
www.spaceweather.com
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