Particle bursts pose threat to astronauts and orbiting satellites (IMAGE)
Caption
On its first two flybys of the sun, the Princeton-led instrument IS?IS onboard the Parker Solar Probe detected a surprising variety of activities by solar energetic particles -- the zippy electrons, protons and other ions that fly out in advance of the solar wind -- that can disrupt space travel and communications on Earth. The observations are just the beginning of explorations of how these particle events form, findings that will shed light on broader questions about the sun, space weather and cosmic rays. One of the greatest threats from the sun -- to astronauts and the satellites that provide GPS maps, cell phone service and internet access -- are high-energy particles that erupt from the sun in bursts. Top: On Nov. 17, 2018, the 321st day of that year, Parker Solar Probe's IS?IS observed a burst of high-energy protons, each with more than 1 million electron-volts of energy. The warmer colors (yellow, orange, red) represent an increase in the number of these high-energy particles hitting the IS?IS sensors. Bottom: An artist's representation of one of these energetic particle events.
Credit
Image by Jamey Szalay and David McComas; Adapted with permission from D.J. McComas et al., Nature 575:7785 (2019)
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