The solar wind is something altogether different. They typically last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours and can blast a billion tons of matter off of the sun. Nomaanakhtar: Do solar flares produce solar winds?ĭavid: Solar flares are huge explosions on the surface of the sun. Again, we're expecting the weakest solar cycle in 100 years, so the effects should be less than what we've seen in the last few solar cycles. Can you tell me some information about the galactic Wednesday and consequent eruption of the Sun 2013? Thank you for your reply.ĭavid: The next solar cycle should reach its peak in mid-2013. G00nne: Hello, I wrote today, the message is probably lost somewhere. It can be seen after many significant solar flares. We need better predictions and radiation-hardened electronic components.Ībishek: Can aurora borealis seen from the earth?ĭavid: Aurora borealis are formed when energetic particles from the sun stream down the Earth's magnetic field lines into the polar regions. However, so much of our technology is sensitive to space weather. We also have satellites and other technology that can help us mitigate the problems associated with flares. Will it knock out much of the electronics in certain areas of the world?ĭavid: The next solar cycle by most indications will be the weakest in 100 years. This is the composition it was born with from the cloud of gas that it came from long ago.Ĭhaosx: What truly is going to happen during our next solar cycle in 2013. Pluto is only three light hours from the sun.Īkarsh_Valsan: Sir, can you explain the major composition of the Sun?ĭavid: The sun is composed of 70% hydrogen, 28% helium, and 2% carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. Thanks for your patience.Ībishek: Can suns rays reach how more long than Pluto?ĭavid: The sun's rays can reach 4.5 billion light years. We'll begin answering them in a few minutes. Please begin to ask your questions by typing them into the box at the bottom of the screen and clicking the 'Ask' button on the right. We'll begin answering them in twenty minutes. (Moderator) Jason: Today's Chat is Scheduled to Begin at 3pm ET. Hathaway are also widely used in many publications by both his scientific colleagues and the scientific press. Data plots, images, and animations produced by Dr. This database is widely used by the solar physics community. He maintains a database on sunspots, including their sizes and positions, that extends back to the year 1874. His research includes constructing computer models for flows on the surface of the Sun and analysis programs for extracting those flows from satellite observations. Hathaway’s primary research interests include the nature and origin of the sunspot cycle and the fluid dynamics of the Sun’s interior. Hathaway has served on numerous advisory committees as well as elected positions within scientific organizations.ĭr. He has been the recipient of dozens of awards from within NASA and from the broader scientific community. He has written over 150 articles on the Sun and solar physics and has received three US patents. He came to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL in 1984 where he has been a member of the solar physics group and served as its team leader from 1996 to 2010. He worked for two years as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Advanced Study Program at the National Center for Atmospheric Research before taking a 3-year position as an Assistant Astronomer at the National Solar Observatory site in Sunspot, NM. Hathaway received his doctorate in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO in 1979. David Hathaway, a solar scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, answered your questions about how our sun works and produces phenomena such as sunspots, solar flares, and solar storms - "hot' topics that have communication and health implications for everyone on Earth.Ĭheck back on this page on Monday for a complete transcript of today's chat.ĭr. But our beneficial space neighbor is also capable of some stellar "temper tantrums." The sun is a huge, glowing ball that provides light, heat, and other energy to our Earth. One of these is our Earth, orbiting the sun at an average distance of about 92,960,000 miles (149,600,000 kilometers). Image credit: NASAĮight planets and their moons, tens of thousands of asteroids, and trillions of comets revolve around the sun. Solar winds help power these atmospheric displays. Credit: NASAĪurora borealis, seen from the International Space Station. Credit: JAXAĪrtist concept of a coronal mass ejection.
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