New research points out that solar wind comes from coronal holes

CTOnews.com, June 13 (Xinhua) in a new scientific study released recently by the University of California, Berkeley, data collected by NASA's Parker Solar probe (PSP) further uncovered the source of the solar wind.

PSP successfully flew over the corona in 2021 to "get in touch" with the sun; in the latest exploration, PSP tracked the source of the solar wind, the coronal hole.

At the peak of solar activity every 11 years, these coronal holes can move or appear on the entire surface, releasing solar wind in all directions.

CTOnews.com hereby appends the explanation of the relevant terms:

Solar wind: solar wind, an astronomical term, refers to the flow of charged particles in supersonic plasma emitted from the upper atmosphere of the sun.

At the high temperature of the solar corona, atoms such as hydrogen and helium have been ionized into positively charged protons, helium nuclei and negatively charged free electrons.

These charged particles move so fast that charged particles continue to break free from the gravitational shackles of the sun and shoot toward the periphery of the sun, forming the solar wind.

Coronal hole: a coronal hole is a dark area in the solar corona where the temperature is lower because the energy and gas are lower than the average density. Coronal holes are part of the solar corona and are constantly changing and reshaping due to the uneven corona.

The magnetic arches contained by the sun will move away from the coronal region where energy and gas are thin, and coronal holes will occur when it no longer falls back. As a result, solar particles escape from the region at a higher speed, creating low-temperature regions with lower gas and energy densities.