Aug. 31, 2007 Scientists for the first time have observed
elusive oscillations in the Sun's corona, known as Alfvén waves,
that transport energy outward from the surface of the Sun. The
discovery is expected to give researchers more insight into the
fundamental behavior of solar magnetic fields, eventually
leading to a fuller understanding of how the Sun affects Earth
and the solar system. The research, led by Steve Tomczyk of the
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), is being
published this week in Science. "Alfvén waves can provide us
with a window into processes that are fundamental to the
workings of the Sun and its impacts on Earth," says Tomczyk, a
scientist with NCAR's High Altitude Observatory. Alfvén waves
are fast-moving perturbations that emanate outward from the Sun
along magnetic field lines, transporting energy. Although they
have been detected in the heliosphere outside the Sun, they have
never before been viewed within the corona, which is the outer
layer of the Sun's atmosphere. Al