SYLLABUS
GS-3: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
Context: Recently, researchers at IIT Kanpur mapped the magnetic field inside the Sun for the first time by assimilating 30 years of surface magnetic field observatis from space-based satellites into a 3-dimensional computational model.
More on the News
- The findings are reported in The Astrophysical Journal Letters by the Department of Physics, IIT Kanpur.
- The data-driven 3D dynamo model enables reconstruction of the Sun’s entire internal magnetic field.
- The core premise is that deep-seated magnetic fields shape surface magnetism, and therefore their signatures persist in long-term surface observations.
- The study provides an unprecedented three-decade estimate of the magnitude, structure, and evolution of the Sun’s internal magnetic fields.
- The Sun’s cyclic magnetic behaviour is governed by the solar dynamo, which generates magnetic fields deep within the solar interior and leads to periodic polarity reversal.
- The Solar Dynamo is the process by which the Sun generates its magnetic field through differential rotation and convection, causing its magnetic polarity to flip roughly every Solar Cycle.
About the Solar Cycle
- The Sun is a massive ball of electrically charged hot gas whose motion generates a strong magnetic field. This magnetic field changes over time in a process known as the solar cycle.
- About every 11 years, the Sun’s magnetic field flips, causing its north and south poles to switch places, and it takes another 11 years for them to flip back.
- These magnetic changes drive variations in solar surface activity, including the formation of sunspots.
- Cycle Stages
- Solar Minimum: It marks the beginning of a solar cycle, when the Sun has the fewest sunspots and the lowest level of magnetic activity. This phase represents a relatively quiet Sun.
- Solar Maximum: It occurs near the middle of the solar cycle, when solar activity peaks and the number of sunspots is highest. As the cycle progresses beyond this point, activity gradually decreases, returning to solar minimum before a new cycle begins.