{"id":284081,"date":"2023-01-17T20:44:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T00:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-485058"},"modified":"2023-09-29T17:43:44","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T21:43:44","slug":"flashes-on-the-sun-could-help-scientists-predict-solar-flares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/sdo\/flashes-on-the-sun-could-help-scientists-predict-solar-flares\/","title":{"rendered":"Flashes on the Sun Could Help Scientists Predict Solar Flares"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In the blazing upper atmosphere of the Sun, a team of scientists have found new clues that could help predict when and where the Sun\u2019s next flare might explode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using data from NASA\u2019s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, researchers from NorthWest Research Associates, or NWRA, identified small signals in the upper layers of the solar atmosphere, the corona, that can help identify which regions on the Sun are more likely to produce solar flares \u2013 energetic bursts of light and particles released from the Sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They found that above the regions about to flare, the corona frequently produced small-scale flashes \u2013 like small sparklers before the big fireworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This information could eventually help improve predictions of flares and space weather storms \u2013 the disrupted conditions in space caused by the Sun\u2019s activity. Space weather can affect Earth in many ways: producing auroras, endangering astronauts, disrupting radio communications, and even causing large electrical blackouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scientists have previously studied how activity in lower layers of the Sun\u2019s atmosphere \u2013 such as the photosphere and chromosphere \u2013 can indicate impending flare activity in active regions, which are often marked by groups of sunspots, or strong magnetic regions on the surface of the Sun that are darker and cooler compared to their surroundings. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3847\/1538-4357\/ac9c04\" rel=\"noopener\">The new findings<\/a>, published in The Astrophysical Journal, add to that picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe can get some very different information in the corona than we get from the photosphere, or \u2018surface\u2019 of the Sun,\u201d said KD Leka, lead author on the new study who is also a designated foreign professor at Nagoya University in Japan. \u201cOur results may give us a new marker to distinguish which active regions are likely to flare soon and which will stay quiet over an upcoming period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-wide\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1501\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"The top left image (day before the region flared) is brighter than the top right (day before the region didn't flare) image. The bottom left image (day before region flared) is more speckled than the bottom right image (day before the region didn't flare)\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg 3034w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?resize=300,220 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?resize=768,563 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?resize=1024,751 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?resize=1536,1126 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?resize=2048,1501 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?resize=400,293 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?resize=600,440 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?resize=900,660 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?resize=1200,880 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?resize=2000,1466 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Two images of a solar active region (NOAA AR 2109) taken by SDO\/AIA show extreme-ultraviolet light produced by million-degree-hot coronal gas (top images) on the day before the region flared (left) and the day before it stayed quiet and did not flare (right). The changes in brightness (bottom images) at these two times show different patterns, with patches of intense variation (black u0026amp; white areas) before the flare (bottom left) and mostly gray (indicating low variability) before the quiet period (bottom right).<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">u003cstrongu003eu003cemu003eCredits: NASA\/SDO\/AIA\/Dissauer et al. 2022u003c\/emu003eu003c\/strongu003e<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>For their research, the scientists used a newly created image database of the Sun\u2019s active regions captured by SDO. The publicly available resource, described in a <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3847\/1538-4357\/ac9c06\" rel=\"noopener\">companion paper<\/a> also in The Astrophysical Journal, combines over eight years of images taken of active regions in ultraviolet and extreme-ultraviolet light. Led by Karin Dissauer and engineered by Eric L. Wagner, the NWRA team\u2019s new database makes it easier for scientists to use data from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on SDO for large statistical studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the first time a database like this is readily available for the scientific community, and it will be very useful for studying many topics, not just flare-ready active regions,\u201d Dissauer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NWRA team studied a large sample of active regions from the database, using statistical methods developed by team member Graham Barnes. The analysis revealed there are frequently small, intense brightness changes in the corona before the solar flares. These and other new insights will give researchers a better understanding of the physics taking place in these magnetically active regions, with the goal of developing new tools to predict solar flares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith this research, we are really starting to dig deeper,\u201d Dissauer said. \u201cDown the road, combining all this information from the surface up through the corona should allow forecasters to make better predictions about when and where solar flares will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related Links<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/sdo\">Learn more about SDO<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>By\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><a href=\"mailto:mjohnson-groh@sesda3.com\"><strong><em>Mara Johnson-Groh<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/goddard\"><strong><em>NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em><strong>, Greenbelt, Md.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the blazing upper atmosphere of the Sun, a team of scientists have found new clues that could help predict when and where the Sun\u2019s next flare might explode. Using data from NASA\u2019s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, researchers from NorthWest Research Associates, or NWRA, identified small signals in the upper layers of the solar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":285831,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2857,2837,3329,2774,10795,9480,11310],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[10596],"coauthors":[8629],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Flashes on the Sun Could Help Scientists Predict Solar Flares","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/sdo\/flashes-on-the-sun-could-help-scientists-predict-solar-flares\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/sdo\/flashes-on-the-sun-could-help-scientists-predict-solar-flares\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg"},"articleSection":"NASA Centers & Facilities","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Abbey Interrante"}],"creator":["Abbey Interrante"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["The Solar System","The Sun","Goddard Space Flight Center","Heliophysics","Heliophysics Division","Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)","Solar Flares","Space Weather"],"dateCreated":"2023-01-18T00:44:00Z","datePublished":"2023-01-18T00:44:00Z","dateModified":"2023-09-29T21:43:44Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"Flashes on the Sun Could Help Scientists Predict Solar Flares\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/sdo\/flashes-on-the-sun-could-help-scientists-predict-solar-flares\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2023-01-18T00:44:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"The Solar System,The Sun,Goddard Space Flight Center,Heliophysics,Heliophysics Division,Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO),Solar Flares,Space Weather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Abbey Interrante\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":3,"time_ago":"1 year","featured_image":{"id":285831,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/flashes_on_the_sun_image.jpg","title":"flashes_on_the_sun_image","alt":"The top left image (day before the region flared) is brighter than the top right (day before the region didn't flare) image. The bottom left image (day before region flared) is more speckled than the bottom right image (day before the region didn't flare)","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284081"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284081"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":497840,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284081\/revisions\/497840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284081"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=284081"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=284081"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=284081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}