US EditionTwo Studies Reveal Sun's Magnetic Engine Deep Beneath Its Surface
New helioseismic data show rotating plasma bands and shearing motions at the tachocline generate the Sun's magnetic field driving sunspots and solar eruptions.
- Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology confirmed the Sun's magnetic dynamo originates roughly 200,000 kilometers beneath the surface at the tachocline. Krishnendu Mandal and Alexander Kosovichev analyzed helioseismic data to locate this magnetic engine powering the Sun's 11-year cycle.
- Nearly 30 years of helioseismic data from NASA's SOHO, SDO, and GONG missions revealed rotating plasma bands forming a butterfly pattern. These internal flows match sunspot migration observed during the Sun's magnetic cycle, pointing to a deep-seated dynamo.
- The tachocline separates the Sun's turbulent outer convection zone from its stable radiative interior. Across this boundary, the Sun's rotation changes abruptly, creating powerful shearing flows capable of generating the magnetic fields driving sunspots and solar flares.
- Locating the dynamo at the tachocline allows forecasters to integrate this physical input into prediction models. Improved simulations could reduce economically costly disruptions to satellites, communications, and power grids worldwide.
- While precise cycle predictions remain challenging, the NJIT team plans to extend simulations to track magnetic evolution across future cycles. Separately, NYU Abu Dhabi scientists are investigating high-frequency magnetic waves, providing complementary insights into stellar magnetism.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Helioseismic evidence that the solar dynamo originates near the tachocline - Scientific Reports
The exact location of the solar dynamo remains uncertain–whether it operates primarily in the near-surface shear layer, throughout the entire convection zone, or near the tachocline - a region of sharp transition in the solar rotation, located at the base of the convection zone, approximately 200,000 km beneath the surface. Various studies have supported each of these possibilities. Notably, the solar magnetic ‘butterfly’ diagram and the pattern…
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Scientists at NYU Abu Dhabi detect magnetic waves deep within the sun, helping predict solar activity
Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi have discovered new large-scale waves moving deep inside the Sun, driven by magnetic fields far below the surface. These waves provide a window into parts of the Sun that are otherwise inaccessible, giving scientists a new tool to study how its magnetic field is formed and evolves over time.
Physicists trace the sun's magnetic engine, 200,000 kilometers below its surface
Every eleven years, the sun's magnetic field flips. Sunspots—dark, cooler regions on the sun's surface that mark intense magnetic activity and often trigger solar eruptions—appear at mid-latitudes and migrate toward the star's equator in a butterfly-shape pattern before fading as the cycle resets. While this spectacle on the star's surface has long been visible to astronomers, where this powerful cycle begins inside the star has remained hidden u
Scientists Finally Locate the Sun’s Hidden Magnetic Engine Deep Beneath Its Surface
New observations are helping scientists peer beneath the Sun’s surface, revealing where its magnetic activity may truly begin. Every 11 years, the Sun’s magnetic field reverses. As that cycle unfolds, sunspots appear at middle latitudes and drift toward the equator in a butterfly-shaped pattern b
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