Astronomers have been left scratching their heads after discovering plasma waves inside the sun that are travelling way too fast.
three times faster than other, similar waves – more rapidly than can be explained by any of our models of plasma motion within the sun.The researchers tested three possible explanations: that the waves were caused by magnetic fields within the sun; that they come from other ripples in the sun called gravity waves; or that they are due to compression of plasma. None of these ideas matches the data.
Hanson says it is still likely that some combination of magnetism, gravity and compression is causing these waves. “It’s very difficult to imagine a scenario where one of these isn’t playing some kind of role in enhancing the mode speed,” he says. The researchers couldn’t think of any other plausible mechanisms, and they hope that more detailed modelling will be able to explain these strange waves in the future.
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