Solar Eruption's Magnetic Field 'Heard' for the First Time ⚡ экспресс
Measuring the magnetic field of coronal mass ejections remains a challenging task in solar physics, crucial for space weather prediction and understanding CME evolution. Here we present the possible detection of gyroresonance emission from a CME. Assuming third harmonic emission, the magnetic field is estimated in the range 7.9–5.6 G at distances of 4.9–7.5 solar radii. This strong field is shown to be not an average but associated with small magnetic islands, which are increasingly observed with the advent of high-resolution white-light imaging. The detection opens the prospect for regular remote measurements of magnetic fields in interplanetary space.
Sun ejects clouds of hydrogen plasma — superheated gas with electric charge — into space. Inside, these clouds are riddled with tangled magnetic threads, like a messy ball of yarn. Directly measuring this invisible tangle had been impossible, but astronomers managed to 'hear' it. When cloud particles move along magnetic lines, they emit radio waves. The signal's frequency depends on the field's strength — this link between electricity and magnetism was revealed in the works of Lorentz and Faraday. By capturing this 'singing' from a passing eruption, scientists calculated the tension of the magnetic threads: 5.6–7.9 gauss. The key finding: such a strong field isn't everywhere, but concentrated in tiny knots that look like glowing swirls in images. These magnetic 'curls' carry the bulk of the energy capable of triggering a storm on Earth. Understanding their structure will let us forecast space storms more accurately.
🎯 A single average eruption carries about a billion tons of material from the solar corona — that's like the mass of a thousand Mount Everests.