NASA captures photo of 'smiling' sun. It's not as cute as it looks. - The Washington Post

But what looks similar a Scrub Daddy sponge acceptable ablaze mightiness not beryllium arsenic cute arsenic it appears. For america present connected Earth, the star emoji could produce a beauteous aurora sighting — oregon it could awesome problems for the planet’s telecommunications systems.

The prima is, successful essence, “the largest atomic reactor successful our star system,” said Brian Keating, a physics prof astatine the University of California astatine San Diego. There’s a flurry of enactment happening each 2nd successful the massive, spinning, glowing shot of blistery state — from the conversion of hydrogen into helium, which gives disconnected the aforesaid magnitude of vigor arsenic respective atomic bombs, to electrical storms and sunquakes.

Some of that star enactment was photographed by NASA’s outer connected Wednesday, Keating told The Washington Post.

In the image, the trio of patches that marque up the “face” — which can’t beryllium seen with quality eyes due to the fact that they’re successful the ultraviolet spectrum — are what’s known arsenic coronal holes, oregon somewhat cooler sections of the sun’s outer layer, which usually has a somesthesia of astir 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

“We’re talking astir a fewer 100 degrees, truthful it’s not similar immoderate skis resort,” Keating said. “But due to the fact that they’re truthful acheronian and due to the fact that we’re looking astatine it successful ultraviolet radiation, which the bare oculus can’t see, the [NASA satellite] sees them arsenic acheronian holes.”

The coronal holes aren’t just interesting shapes moving astir the sun’s surface. They’re areas of precocious magnetic-field enactment steadily sending star upwind — oregon a travel of protons, electrons and different particles — into the universe.

“More truthful than a smiley face, its eyes are similar gleaming laser beams sending particles that tin origin terrible disruptions to the ambiance connected Earth,” Keating said.

When the particles, which transportation electrical charge, deed the satellite successful small doses, colorful auroras mightiness follow, bringing superb displays caused by the atmosphere’s gases interacting with the sun’s burped-up shoots of energy. The problems travel if a tremendous fig of the teeny-tiny particles deed Earth, Keating said. Instead of being sucked into Earth’s magnetic field, they could get picked up by vigor antennae and disrupt radio, tv and different connection channels. A terrible star tempest could adjacent harm electrical grids and origin powerfulness outages, Keating added.

While images of a smiling prima person been captured earlier — for instance, successful 2013 aft it “ate a comet” oregon successful 2014 erstwhile NASA dubbed it a “Pumpkin Sun”— the worst-case script Keating described hasn’t happened successful astir 2 centuries. The past aggravated geomagnetic tempest to impact Earth that overmuch was the 1859 Carrington Event, which caused fires astatine respective telegraph stations arsenic auroras popped up successful tropical regions.

A monolithic lawsuit similar that is agelong overdue, helium said.

“Scientists expect that to hap connected average, with a mates percent probability, each year, and we’ve conscionable dodged each these magnetic bullets for truthful long,” Keating said. “So it could beryllium truly scary, and the consequences could beryllium overmuch much dramatic, particularly successful our technology-dependent existent society.”

The sun’s particles from the latest grin lawsuit whitethorn scope Earth close connected clip for the ghostliest nighttime of the year.

“There could beryllium thing connected our mode for Halloween nighttime aft all,” Keating said. “Pretty spooky, but hopefully not excessively spooky.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a insignificant geomagnetic tempest ticker Saturday, informing that conditions could alteration from “unsettled” to “active.” The flare-ups of the coronal holes are expected to proceed done Wednesday.