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Solar flares are a fascinating thing and have a profound effect on what astronomers refer to as “space weather.” These events vary with the Sun’s 11-year solar cycle, releasing immense amounts of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum (from extreme ultraviolet to X-rays) into space. The effects of flares have been observed since time immemorial, which include aurorae at high latitudes (Aurora Borealis and Australis), but have only been the subject of study and prediction for about a century and a half. Still, there is much that remains unknown about these dramatic events. For instance, flares are known to affect the Sun’s atmosphere, from the visible surface (photosphere) to its outermost layer (corona). However, there are still questions about how these events influence the lower layers of the atmosphere. In a recent study led by the University of Colorado, Boulder, a team of researchers documented the rotation of two very small sunspots of the Sun’s surface (pores) using the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) at Mauna Kea. These pores were linked to a less powerful flare and moved in a way that has never been observed, suggesting that the dynamics of the Sun’s atmosphere are more complex than previously thought. The study was led by Rahul Yadav, a Research Scientist from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, Boulder (UC Boulder). He was joined by colleagues from UC Boulder’s Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) National Solar Observatory (NSO), and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of SB RAS. The paper that details their findings, “Photospheric Pore Rotation Associated with a C-class Flare from Spectropolarimetric Observations with DKIST,” recently appeared in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. The NSO Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Credit: NSF/NSO/AURA Solar flares are thought to occur when stored magnetic energy in the Sun’s atmosphere accelerates charged particles in the surrounding plasma. They occur in active regions and are often accompanied by a significant amount of plasma being ejected into space – a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) – and the release of accelerated particles – a Solar Particle Event (SPE). These can play havoc with satellites in Earth’s orbit, and interfere with radio antennas and electronic grids on the surface, which is why scientists are interested in learning more about them. Flares are classified according to their strength: B-class is the weakest, C and M-class are slightly more energetic, and X is the strongest. Previous studies have shown how intense solar flares can lead to large sunspots rapidly rotating and distorting active regions on the Sun’s surface. But as Dr. Yadav explained in an NSO press release, what they observed was quite unexpected. “[T]his study marks the first time that such rotation has been observed on a smaller scale—less than 2,000 kilometers [~1,245 mi] across—associated with a less intense C-class flare,” he said. In addition, previous observations have found that rotational movements of sunspots occur directly at the flare ribbon, where the most intense emissions occur during a flare event. This time, the team observed a pre-flare rotation located a short distance from the flare ribbon, which suggests that the coupling between different layers of the Sun’s atmosphere during flares may be more complex than previously thought. Yadav and his colleagues suggest that the process they observed is driven by changes in the Lorentz force caused by interactions between solar charged particles (aka. solar wind) and its magnetic fields. As Prof. Maria Kazachenko, an NSO scientist and co-author of the study, explained: “As the magnetic field lines in the corona reorganize, they could induce changes in the lower atmosphere, leading to the observed rotation. This discovery adds a new dimension to our understanding of the complex magnetic interactions that occur during solar flares.” This animation shows the temporal evolution of a solar flare region and the surrounding sunspots/pores as observed by the VBI instrument on the Inouye Solar Telescope. Credit: NSO–NSF The unique observations the team made using the Inouye telescope offer new insights into the mechanisms through which solar flares influence the lower layers of the Sun’s atmosphere. For example, past observations have revealed much about sunspot rotations that occurred during more powerful flares (M—or X-class). However, the Inouye data revealed that similar rotational movements can occur with less intense flares and on smaller scales. These findings could lead to new research avenues and help refine our models of solar activity. This will have implications for the growing constellations of telecom, research, internet, and Earth observation satellites in Earth’s orbit. Predicting space weather, which affects everything in the Solar System to the very edge of the Heliosphere, is also important for long-duration missions in space. For astronauts working on the Moon and Mars and transiting through deep space, knowing more about flare activity will help mitigate the risk of radiation exposure. Further Reading: NSO, AJL The post High-Resolution Images of the Sun Show How Flares Impact the Solar Atmosphere appeared first on Universe Today.

A gravitational lens is the ultimate funhouse mirror of the Universe. It distorts the view of objects behind them but also supplies amazing information about distant galaxies and quasars. Astronomers using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) recently released a new image of one of these weird apparitions called “The Carousel Lens”. It’s a rare alignment of seven background galaxies that all appear distorted by an intervening galaxy cluster. According to Berkeley Lab senior scientist David Schlegel, this gravitational lens is a great find for astronomers. “This is an amazingly lucky ‘galactic line-up’—a chance alignment of multiple galaxies across a line-of-sight spanning most of the observable universe,” he said. “Finding one such alignment is a needle in the haystack. Finding all of these is like eight needles precisely lined up inside that haystack.” The Carousel Lens was uncovered in Dark Energy Survey data a few years ago. Now astronomers are zeroing in on it to measure its mass and the effects on the images of more distant galaxies. This gravitational lens alignment of seven galaxies and a foreground galaxy cluster could well provide new insights into the early Universe via the high-redshift galaxy sources, the properties of the lensing cluster, and unanswered questions in cosmology. An example of the Carousel gravitational lens found in the DESI Legacy Surveys data. There are four sets of lensed images in DESI-090.9854-35.9683. They correspond to four distinct background galaxies — from the outermost giant red arc to the innermost bright blue arc. All of them appear gravitationally warped — or lensed — by the orange galaxy at the very center. Deconstructing the Carousel Gravitational Lens Typical large-scale gravitational lenses in the Universe consist of a “lensing object” and more distant objects behind it. Generally, those distant objects are galaxies and quasars. (Small-scale gravitational lenses occur when a planet passes in front of its star, for example.) However, the Carousel Lens is more “cosmic” in nature, covering objects millions of light-years apart. In particular, the cluster doing the lensing is about 5 billion light-years from Earth. It’s also designated as DESI-090.9854-35.9683 and has at least four large galaxy members as well as several other possible cluster members. The Carousel lenses at least seven distant galaxies. They lie anywhere from 7.62 to 12 billion light-years away from Earth. Their alignment with the lensing cluster resulted in multiple images of each of the more distant galaxies. Their shapes are the result of the “funhouse mirror” effect that stretches their apparitions. The galaxy labeled “4a, 4b, 4c, 4d” actually forms a nearly perfect “Einstein Cross”, which shows the symmetrical distribution of mass in the lens. The Carousel is a great example of a “strong lens” in the Universe, according to Xiaoshang Huang, who is part of the team at Berkeley studying it. “Our team has been searching for strong lenses and modeling the most valuable systems,” said Huang. “The Carousel Lens is an incredible alignment of seven galaxies in five groupings that line up nearly perfectly behind the foreground cluster lens. As they appear through the lens, the multiple images of each of the background galaxies form approximately concentric circular patterns around the foreground lens, as in a carousel. It’s an unprecedented discovery, and the computational model generated shows a highly promising prospect for measuring the properties of the cosmos, including those of dark matter and dark energy.” The Carousel Lens as seen by the HST marked up by the galaxies. The “L” indicators near the center (La, Lb, Lc, and Ld) show the most massive galaxies in the lensing cluster. Seven unique galaxies (numbered 1 through 7) – located an additional 2.6 to 7 billion light years beyond the lens – appear in multiple, distorted “fun-house mirror” iterations (indicated by each number’s letter index, e.g., a through d), as seen through the lens. (Credit: William Sheu (UCLA) using HST data.) What Makes this Lens So Special? In their recently released paper, Schlegel, Huang, and others described modeling the Carousel Lens to understand its structure. They point out that it shows nearly every lensing configuration that astronomers see in such apparitions. There are various arcs, diamond shapes, the Einstein Ring, and double lensing. The big spread of distances between the lens itself and the galaxies it’s distorting also presents some interesting cosmological areas of study. In particular, the science team hopes to do more spectral studies to understand the lensing cluster’s matter distribution. At least seven lensed sources will help constrain the amount of matter in the cluster and aid in understanding the amounts of dark and baryonic matter in such systems. In addition to matter distribution, the team can also use this lensing system as a way to understand the characteristics of the distant lensed sources. This is important because the most distant ones give insight into conditions in their various epochs of cosmic history. For example, source 7 is an interesting “nearby” source that could be a very high-redshift “quiescent” galaxy. It appears to be very “red” in infrared measures and others of this sort have been observed by HST. Source 7 could be an efficient example of what’s called “early galaxy quenching”. That occurs when star formation shuts down and the galaxy becomes quiescent. There are several ways that could happen, but the most common is some kind of feedback loop between the central supermassive black hole and outlying regions. This could occur as a result of galaxy mergers, for example, which were very common in the early Universe. The Carousel Lens (and others of its type) provides a special way to study that epoch of cosmic history and the events that shaped the galaxies we see today. For More Information Magnifying Deep Space Through the ‘Carousel LensThe Carousel Lens: A Well-modeled Strong Lens with Multiple Sources Spectroscopically Confirmed by VLT/MUSE Gravitational lens found in the DESI Legacy Surveys data The post This Might Be the Best Gravitational Lens Ever Found appeared first on Universe Today.

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