The magazine MAQ February 2019 March-April 2019 | Page 83

The complex configurations of magnetic fields, that can twist together like gigantic, invisible rubber bands,they carry huge accumulations of energy. This energy can be released impulsively, as in the case of solar flares in the crown regions, or more gradually, through the process of heating due to energy transported by oscillations of magnetic fields, or the waves of Alfven.

Thanks to the combination of sophisticated numerical simulations and images with very high spatial resolution, obtained from the Swedish SST solar telescope located in La Palma (Canary Islands), the team of researchers has finally managed to identify the presence of Alfven waves in the solar atmosphere and therefore the possible origin of coronal heating.

Source:

MAQ Magazine n. 11 / March - April 2019