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The solar corona looks like a glittering and luminous ring to the observers of the sky who observe the totality of a solar eclipse. But this enchanting halo is also a plasma explosion that could potentially disrupt satellite, radio and GPS systems around the Earth.
Therefore, it is important to make accurate predictions of the changing structure of the crown. And when the total solar eclipse of July 2 crossed South America, a small group of scientists waited to see if the models that they had created using data from the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) corresponded to the images taken. The space agency detailed this work in a statement issued Wednesday, July 3.
The crown is the flamboyant outdoor atmosphere of the sun. The sun's magnetic field changes the structure of the crown, which releases bursts of charged particles into the solar system. Known as the solar wind, this flow creates the spatial weather that drives the aurora borealis close to Earth's poles, but can also interfere with the extensive communication systems that underlie modern society.
Related: Twofer! Total solar eclipse, hurricane Barbara spotted from space (photo)
Usually, the crown is invisible, hidden by the brightness of the inner layers of the sun. This is why eclipses are valuable opportunities to study the crown of the Earth.
A team from private computational research firm Predictive Science Inc. used the SDO data, launched in 2010, to refine a previously used numerical model to predict the onset of another total solar eclipse: the iconic event the continental United States in August 2017.
For this week's eclipse, the team focused on the solar poles in particular. Indeed, the sun is currently experiencing a lull in its eleven-year cycle. During this period of low activity, called solar minimum, the poles strongly affect the magnetic activity of the star – and thus the structure of the corona.
Due to the sun's cycle approaching a lull called solar minimum, the star's surface has spent the entire month of February 2019 spot-free, according to NASA. On February 6, 2019, the Solar Dynamics Observatory of the agency took this picture in visible light with white filter.
(Image credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory, NASA)
Using the model on Pleiades, "one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world", announced a detailed prediction featuring a cloudy crown with two large, fuzzy, unfocused streamers. They published their final prediction of the total eclipse on June 25th.
Now, they compared this prediction to the real appearance of the crown on July 2nd. Even though their hypothesis was not entirely accurate, the researchers were happy to see how close they were.
An image of the solar corona based on data collected during the total solar eclipse on July 2, 2019.
(Image credit: ESA / CESAR)
"I am delighted," said Cooper Downs, research scientist in prediction. "I'm already looking at the details that we've been wrong and where we can improve, but it's great to see that there will be quality scientific measurements that we can compare in detail and for which we will have a lot to learn from this comparison. "
SDO and missions such as NASA's Parker Solar Probe and the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter will gather more data on the krone over the next few years.
Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter @salazar_elin. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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