Scientists have discovered long-lasting radio signals emitting from the sun, similar to auroras found on Earth, for the first time.
A sunspot, a cool, dark, and magnetically active region on the sun, emits radio bursts that have previously only been observed on other stars and planets. Situated around 25,000 miles (40,000 km) above the sunspot, is the first of its kind, says a team of researchers funded by NASA.
The findings were published in Nature Astronomy.
It could help us understand our own star as well as the behavior of distant stars that produce the same radio emissions, the space agency says.
READ NEXT: Two monster supermassive black holes have been fighting for 3 billion years
Short radio bursts are often seen coming out of the sun and typically last for minutes or hours. However, the new findings persisted for more than a week.
They also have other characteristics, such as different intensities and wavelengths, as well as the angle and direction of the radio waves. It means they are more similar to the radio emissions found on the Northern and southern lights on our planet.
For Earth, and other planets like Jupiter and Saturn, auroras shimmer in the night sky when solar particles are caught up in the planet’s magnetic field. They are pulled towards the. north or south poles.
As they make their way toward the poles, they generate intense radio emissions and smash into atoms in the atmosphere, which is where the light comes from.
The new data suggests that radio bursts on the sun are produced similarly when energetic electrons are trapped and accelerated by mixing with magnetic fields above the sunspot.
“The discovery excites us as it challenges existing notions of solar radio phenomena and opens new avenues for exploring magnetic activities both in our Sun and in distant stellar systems,” Yu said.
READ NEXT: Scientists estimate how likely asteroid ‘God of Chaos’ will crash into Earth
