Unveiling the Power Source of Solar Winds: Insights from the Solar Orbiter
The Solar Orbiter spacecraft has potentially discovered the source of solar winds, capturing images of "picoflare jets" emanating from a dark region of the sun called a coronal hole. These jets, which are much weaker than solar flares but still contain substantial energy, could be responsible for producing the charged particles that make up solar winds. Scientists have long known that coronal holes are source regions for solar winds, but the mechanism of how plasma streams emerge from them has remained a mystery. The discovery of these picoflare jets could provide the answer and help explain the high temperature of the sun's corona.