Researchers trace source of the sun's magnetic field
Despite living in the brightly lit streets of central London, my smartphone camera caught a green haze and a throbbing curtain of purple and pink light. Capturing this moment was a truly unforgettable experience, one that I'd thought would require costly travel to the Arctic regions of our planet.
The storms that result in awe-inspiring auroras, as witnessed here, stem from the sun's puzzling magnetic field - a cosmic mystery that scientists drew a bit closer to understanding this week.
Solar revelations
Understanding the intricacies of the sun's magnetic field will enable scientists to enhance the accuracy of space weather forecasting. While these brilliant light displays captivate night sky enthusiasts, they can also disrupt Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and communication satellites in orbit.
The sun's multilayered magnetic fields, a tangle of structures more complex than those found on Earth, are challenging to study directly. To make sense of it all, scientists construct model systems.
A new model, developed with the aid of a NASA supercomputer and over a decade's worth of work, discloses that the sun's magnetic field is produced significantly closer to the surface than previously believed. The team behind this research suggests that their model is more precise, as it incorporates a one-of-a-kind solar feature.
A captivating past
Back in the Pyrenees Mountains, a golden earring discovered in the remains of a 2,000-year-old building is offering clues to the mysterious conflagration that once engulfed this Iron Age settlement named Tossal de Baltarga. Fatally engulfed were six animals, who met their demise in a stable.
Archaeologists suspect this fire was set intentionally. If it had been accidental, the building's owners probably would have released their livestock and returned post-fire to gather the stashed-away gold, stored in a jar.
At this stage, the fate of the settlement's inhabitants is uncertain. However, the dig unearthed significant details about the lives of the ancient Iberian people known as the Cerretani.
Celestial wonders
The creators of Stonehenge carefully positioned the massive stones that form this 4,500-year-old ancient monument in line with sunrise and sunset during the longest and shortest days of the year, displaying human awareness of the sun that still resonates today.
However, is there also a lunar connection to this site in southwest England and, potentially, other megalithic monuments worldwide?
The possibility of Stonehenge having a connection to the moon first surfaced in the 1960s. Although this notion underwent little investigation at the time, some archaeologists are now capitalizing on the lunar standstill, a phenomenon that occurs every 18.6 years, to examine this theory further.
Across the cosmos
For the first time ever, astronomers have encountered the edge of a black hole (referred to as the "plunging region"); an area where particles from nearby stars speedily spiral into the black hole.
Andrew Mummery, the study's lead author and a researcher from the University of Oxford, likened this to the edge of a waterfall, where orbiting material from nearby stars plummets into the abyss.
Within the plunging region, matter can no longer stay in orbit and is drawn into the black hole. However, different from the event horizon, light can still escape from this location.
These findings, confirming what Albert Einstein foresaw, may help reveal the birth and development of black holes.
A marvel of animal intelligence
Corvids - a group of birds that encompasses crows, ravens, and jays - are renowned for their resourcefulness. One of these corvid species could possess the ability to engage in a kind of memory recall that scientists call "mental time travel."
This type of memory allows the mind to dredge up a seemingly inconsequential detail that wasn't explicitly recalled - such as recollecting what you had for lunch yesterday.
Researchers working with Eurasian jays who were trained to uncover hidden food underneath cups revealed that these birds may be capable of this rare mental feat.
Notably, other corvid tales suggest that crows can count up to four.
Quest for insights
Plunge into these fascinating stories.
— Thomas Midgley Jr., a brilliant American inventor, paved the way for progress, but his advancements also gave rise to detrimental side effects.
— The presence of microplastics in human testicles highlights the need for more thorough research into the potential links between plastics and infertility.
— Archaeologists in Austria have uncovered hundreds of mammoth bones in a winemaker's cellar, a discovery they have branded an "archaeological sensation."
The latest on the delayed Boeing Starliner crewed mission from NASA has been announced.
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The discoveries made about the sun's magnetic field could potentially improve space weather forecasting, protecting satellites and communication systems from auroral disruptions.
Understanding the sun's magnetic field is significant not only for weather forecasting but also for unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos, which played a role in ancient astrological practices such as the alignment of Stonehenge.
Source: edition.cnn.com
