A solar ‘radio eclipse’ ring of fire

On October 14, as most Californians have been handled to a partial solar eclipse, researchers on the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) took in a special view.

Utilizing OVRO’s Lengthy Wavelength Array (OVRO-LWA), they measured radio wavelengths between 20 and 88 megahertz (MHz) to create a picture of the “radio eclipse.” Within the photographs and video beneath, the dotted traces present the moon’s location and the strong traces present the seen sun’s limb. Distortions within the video are attributable to the sun’s ionosphere.

The radio waves extending past the sun’s edge are emitted from its corona, making a “ring of fireplace” impact observable even outdoors the path of the full annular eclipse.

“Science-wise, this can be a distinctive alternative to review the sun’s prolonged corona with the best decision attainable at these wavelengths, making the most of the moon’s limb as a shifting ‘knife edge’ to extend the efficient angular decision,” says Bin Chen, a solar astrophysicist and affiliate professor on the New Jersey Institute of Expertise, who co-leads OVRO-LWA’s analysis on the sun.

The OVRO-LWA accomplished a significant improve this yr. The telescope can now survey the sky sooner than some other radio telescope working at frequencies beneath 100 MHz.

Managed by OVRO director and Caltech professor of astronomy Gregg Hallinan, the OVRO-LWA mission entails collaborations with a number of establishments. The array detects radio waves throughout the entire sky near-continuously, monitoring for coronal mass ejections from close by stars, trying to find the magnetic fields of exoplanets, and offering insights on the early universe along with conducting multifaceted research of our sun.