Abdul Hakim Mahmoud
In a scientific study whose results were published by the Science magazine on May 1, scientists from the German Max Planck Institute have compared for the first time the activity of solar energy with hundreds of other similar stars in the Milky Way.
In the comparison, the researchers used data from the NASA's Kepler space telescope, choosing stars with a similar surface temperature, age and rotation to the sun.
The results of the study indicated that the brightness of the sun differs from other similar stars, and is even very weak in terms of brightness.
The magnetic calm of the sun
According to the statement issued by the Max Planck Institute, the sun is essentially a hot ball of hydrogen and helium, a medium-sized star formed more than 4.5 billion years ago.
It is now almost half its life span and its diameter is about 1.4 million km, while its surface temperature is about 5500 ° C, and it takes about one and a half days to rotate once around its axis 24 and a half days.
The new study had confirmed that the sun was going through a period of magnetic calm, as it mentioned that the luster of the stars has been fluctuating actively over the past years, while our sun has maintained its stability.
It is reported that during the past few years, solar activity has received the attention of space agencies and their solar observatories, including a previous study by NASA's Solar Observatory in 2017.
This study showed that the sun is about to enter a period of magnetic lull, and scientists expected at that time to be in the period between 2019-2020.
Witness: solar cycle
Examining the sun's brightness
During the study, scientists at the Max Planck Institute examined 369 stars similar to the sun in terms of surface temperature, size, and period of rotation around the axis, which showed that the change in the brightness of other stars exceeds that of the sun five times on average.
According to the statement issued by astrophysicist Timo Reinhold of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in his explanation of the reasons for the decrease in the sun's brightness as a result of solar activity, "This change is caused by dark spots on the surface of the sun during rotation, as the number of sunspots on the surface is a direct measure of activity Solar.
"There may be something different in the sun from those stars, or the sun passes through periods of a large variation in its brightness, and therefore scientists have not seen magnetic activity, and it may be due to the fact that the sun did not reveal its full range of activity over the nine thousand years Past.
Watch: The Stars Activity Cycle
Is the sun going through the middle of life?
On the other hand, the researchers said that they believe that our sun is going through a transitional phase similar to what they called the midlife crisis, as it is possible that it is in the midst of a different activity stage than the rest of the stars, as it reached the middle of its life, according to the statement issued by this study.
But on the other hand, the researchers described this different and less active position of our sun star as the best for the planet.
As the increased magnetic activity associated with sunspots can lead to solar flare waves, massive emissions of plasma and magnetic field from the outer end of the sun's atmosphere and other electromagnetic phenomena that may affect the Earth, this may disrupt satellites and communications and put astronauts at risk.