Scientists have observed solar nanoflares for the first time: energy equivalent to 2000 Hiroshima atomic bombs

The website of the Spanish newspaper "Nation" published a report entitled "The first discovery of a nanoflare that uncovered the main secret of the sun" on October 6. According to the report, the study confirmed the existence of nanoflares for the first time and helped explain why the temperature of the corona is thousands of times that of the surface of the sun. The full text is excerpted as follows:

When astrophysicist Patrick Antorin first observed a tiny jet-like explosion in the corona, he didn't know what it meant. Antorin said: "These images shocked me. My intuition told me that they are important, but I couldn't concentrate on studying them at the time. I put the photos in the file cabinet and accumulated dust for three years." Antorin is the most recent The lead author of a study published in the British journal Nature Astronomy, this study confirmed the existence of nanoflares for the first time and helped explain why the temperature of the corona is thousands of times the surface temperature of the sun.

Antorin made observations as early as 2014 when he checked the satellite catalog of the solar interface zone imaging spectrometer, but it was not until 2017 that he had the opportunity to analyze it in detail. In a series of images reconstructed by Antorin, three distinct stages of the transformation of magnetic energy into thermal energy and heating of the corona were observed for the first time. First we can see a small part of the corona in a cooling state, the temperature of which is about 60,000 degrees Celsius. A tiny explosion releasing energy can then be observed. Because it resembles a high-speed airplane, Antorin named it "nanojet", and physics called it "nanoflare". Finally, it can be confirmed that a small part of the corona, which was initially in a cooling state, was heating up to several million degrees Celsius.

Antorin said that this kind of incident has a high chance of occurrence. "It takes a lot of luck to aim the satellite at the precise place at the precise time." Antorin said. By analyzing the images, it can be found that the "nanojet" appears in less than 10 seconds, and its speed can reach 700,000 kilometers per hour. The energy released by each small explosion is equivalent to 2,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. Antorin said: "We observed a kind of'avalanche effect', first a small part of the nanojet appeared, then spread to the entire magnetic ring, and was captured by the satellite. We observed a total of 150 small explosions in 10 minutes. ."

According to Ada Ortiz Cavonelli, a solar astrophysics researcher at the University of Oslo, Norway, the discovery is very important for revealing the secret of the corona. "As early as the 1980s, someone suggested that nanoflares are the cause of the corona's warming, but they have not been observed. One side is theory, the other side is practice." Cavonelli said, "X-rays were used in the corona before. I have seen the lights, but I really haven't been able to connect them to the warming of the coronal ring."The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also recognized the value of this research on the same day. NASA stated in an article: "Researchers have notified the first clear images of nanojets, which are the subtle and bright light produced in the corona's magnetic structure. This process confirms the existence of nanoflares and helps explain the corona. The phenomenon of warming.” However, researchers from Antorin, Cavonelli, and NASA agreed that more similar observations are needed to uncover the secret of the corona warming. NASA said: "More research is needed to determine the frequency of nanojets and nanoflares throughout the sun, especially to study how much energy they contribute to the warming of the corona." Cavonelli said, solar physicists, agree. It is believed that there is not only one warming mechanism in the corona, but multiple mechanisms coexist. Cavonelli said: "We have not fully resolved the corona problem, but we have taken a very important step.