Recently, the joint European Space Agency (ESA)\/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft discovered an array of tiny jets of material being ejected from the Sun\u2019s outer atmosphere. Ejecting plasma at 100 kilometers per second, the jets last for just 20 to 100 seconds, and could be the source of solar wind.<\/p>\n
Solar wind is made up of plasma, or charged particles, that continuously flow away from the Sun. As solar wind moves farther and farther from the Sun, it will collide with anything in its path, such as Earth\u2019s magnetic field, which \u2014 in turn \u2014 creates the famous aurora borealis. Scientists have long theorized how solar wind is created, but have never been able to confirm their ideas. However, Solar Orbiter\u2019s recent findings may finally provide scientists with the answer they\u2019ve been searching for for decades.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Sun boasts many extreme and unique characteristics that have stumped scientists for decades. Solar wind is one of the most prominent and fundamental features of the Sun. In fact, the potential causes of solar wind have been the focal point of thousands of heliophysical studies.<\/p>\n
Solar Orbiter launched in February 2020 from Florida atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Just a few short months later, the spacecraft was already sending back some of the closest images of the Sun ever taken and has since provided scientists with data that has allowed them to better understand our Sun and the ways in which it affects our lives, Earth, and our solar system as a whole.<\/p>\n