A powerful solar flare sent particles from Earth to the Sun.

The powerful solar flare that caused northern lights as far south as the United States on April 24, 2023, also allowed scientists to observe another rare phenomenon: For about two hours, particles not only flew in one direction from the Sun to Earth, but also became an open path in the opposite direction. NASA I mentioned now Through this highway particles.

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Certain prerequisites were necessary for the two-way flow of particles. The intensity of the solar flare caused the entire Earth to be covered in a cloud of particles. As a result, part of the Earth’s magnetic shield briefly disintegrated. As a result, the solar flare’s magnetic field merged with the Earth’s magnetic field. While people on the surface remained protected by the atmosphere, the particles trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field were able to escape and took the opposite path – from the Earth to the Sun.

More common on other planets

Scientists call these particle highways “Alfvén wings.” They are a rare phenomenon on Earth. However, they can be observed regularly in other corners of the solar system, such as on Jupiter’s moons. This is how particles from the moons Io and Ganymede reach Jupiter, where they cause ultraviolet auroras.

NASA noticed the events on the train. Their Multi-Scale Magnetospheric Mission (MMS)The research project involves four identical satellites in a highly elliptical orbit around the Earth. NASA is using them to study the interaction between the Earth's magnetic fields and the Sun.

New insights into the solar wind

Theoretically, according to NASA, Earth particles colliding with the Sun could be what caused the northern lights to appear there — in reality, of course, this is impossible because they are far too weak to be visible there. However, for scientists, the observations have provided new starting points for understanding the solar wind and how it affects Earth.

(Meccan)