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In a recent discovery, scientists have found a way to better understand the speed of solar particles that causes a solar storm. Did you know that the most energetic processes seen in the solar system are Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that cause massive solar storms. Even with Earth’s protective electromagnetic field, it can have a serious impact on our daily lives. Making a reason for scientists to study solar energetic particle (SEP) events.
According to Space.com, researchers have found that particles with no electric charge, commonly called energetic neutral atoms (ENA), that travel at a high speed can be studied during significant solar events like CMEs and solar flares. This has opened various opportunities for studying these massive events in detail.
A study led by Professor Gang Li from the University of Alabama in Huntsville discovered that ENA particles can also be used to investigate solar particle acceleration in two different sites. Dr. Li also added that “The ultimate goal of using ENAs is to obtain various physics parameters at the acceleration sites”. To study the ENA particles, they can be accelerated at two different points either solar flares or CME-driven shock.
Observing the sun to understand particle acceleration is challenging due to the difficulty of direct measurements. However, remote observation using energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), which are unaffected by magnetic fields, offers a great solution to study particle acceleration in this challenging environment.
“These neutral particles are not affected by the solar wind MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) turbulence as they propagate from the sun to observers,” Space.com quoted Dr. Li as saying.
Therefore, to study energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), researchers need an ENA detector around Earth that helps them to study it.
NASA is currently designing an instrument that will be able to measure ENAs originating from the sun as part of the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission.
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