Astronomers Confirm the Existence of Magnetic Waves in the Sun’s Photosphere

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For the first time astronomers have observed waves of magnetic energy, known as Alfvén waves, in the photosphere of the sun. This discovery may help explain why the solar corona is so much hotter than the surface.


The sun is made of plasma, and like any plasma it should support Alfvén waves. These are waves in a plasma where the ions move in response to tension from a magnetic field. First predicted over 50 years ago, astronomers had until now had been unable to see them in the sun. But recent observations of the sun’s photosphere – the lowest layer of its atmosphere and the region that releases the light that we can see – have finally found them.

Astronomers Confirm the Existence of Magnetic Waves in the Sun's Photosphere - Universe Today

For the first time astronomers have observed waves of magnetic energy, known as Alfvén waves, in the photosphere of the sun. This discovery may help explain why the solar corona is so much hotter than the surface. The sun is made of plasma, and like any plasma it should support Alfvén waves...

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