Thaindian News

London, Mar 3 (ANI): Scientists have finally solved the mystery of the recent period of decreased solar activity during the Sun’s 11-year cycle.

Experts observed that the recent solar minimum was the deepest observed in almost 100 years. This has important implications for safety of space travel and the amount of orbital debris our planet accumulates.

“Plasma currents deep inside the Sun interfered with the formation of sunspots and prolonged the solar minimum,” says lead author Dibyendu Nandi of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata.

Because of the reduced activity, the Sun’s magnetic field weakened, allowing cosmic rays to penetrate the solar system in record numbers, making space a more dangerous place to travel.

And the decrease in UV radiation caused Earth’s upper atmosphere to cool and collapse.

Consequently, space debris stopped decaying and started accumulating in Earth orbit due to increased atmospheric drag.

Observations from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) will eventually provide measurements that could validate the current model and provide the basis for future solar cycle prediction.

“This research demonstrates how observations from Heliophysics SystemObservatory missions stimulate new theories and advance modelling techniques,” said Richard Fisher, director of the HeliophysicsDivision in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington.

The study is published in March 3 issue of Nature. (ANI)