JAKARTA – The sun is a ball of gas or plasma that is over 90% hydrogen and the rest is helium.
However, there are only a few parts that can be observed by solar telescopes.
The function of the solar telescope is to observe the corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun which is more than a million degrees hotter than the surface of the Sun.
Solar telescopes also have a role to study magnetic reconnection, or the conditions under which the sun’s magnetic field creates emissions of superheated gas.
So what part of the Sun can the telescope see? Check out the following description!
1. Solar flare
A solar flare is an explosion or blast that occurs in the Sun’s atmosphere that is capable of releasing a large amount of energy.
Although the amount of energy is small, solar flares can cause interference with cellular, television, and radio communications equipment on Earth.
Space Weather astronomer Tony Phillips said the aftermath of a solar flare explosion could cause shortwave radio blackouts over the South Atlantic Ocean.
2. Sunspots
Sunspots are depressions on the sun’s surface that appear darker than the entire sun.
The dark color may occur because it has a lower temperature than the surrounding temperature.
Sunspots have strong magnetic fields created by the flow of electric charges from the solar plasma.
Sunspots appear small when viewed through a solar telescope, but the size of a sunspot called AR3038 is found to be 31,900 kilometers in diameter.
3. Solar wind
The solar wind is a stream of plasma (charged particles) escaping from the Sun. The solar wind is composed mainly of high-energy electrons and protons.
The speed of the solar wind will be greatest when it is above the corona hole, reaching 800 km/sec with a temperature of 800,000 degrees Celsius.
4. Prominence of the sun
The sun prominence is the part of the sun that resembles a flame on its surface, starting from the photosphere to the corona.
Like a giant ball of gas, the Sun has an unevenly distributed magnetic field throughout.
As a result of the rotation and magnetic field of the Sun, sunspots will form. So when sunspots form, there will be collisions of plasma that form prominences.
