Probing the Heart of Solar Storms with a New Technique

Scientists have discovered that energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) could be used to investigate the particle acceleration process involved in solar energetic particle (SEP) events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). ENAs are neutral particles that are not affected by magnetic fields, making them useful for studying these sites remotely. NASA is currently planning an instrument as part of its Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission, which will be capable of measuring ENAs originating from the sun.