Scientists know that solar protrusions are relatively dense formations of hydrogen and helium plasma at the edges or dark spots of the solar disk. The ridges typically explode when a structure becomes unstable and explodes outward, releasing plasma.

A unique event in the history of solar observations

Scott McIntosh of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said he had never seen anything like it before. He also noted that “once every solar cycle, at 55 degrees latitude, something strange happens.”

We will remind you that the solar cycle is the most visible period of the star’s 11-year activity. The bulge occurs in the same place each time, but scientists had never seen it transform into an atmospheric vortex before.

Once in each solar cycle, it (northern protrusion) forms at 55 degrees latitude and begins to move towards the solar poles. Very interesting. More and more questions arise around this phenomenon “why”. Why does it only move to the pole once and then disappear, magically reappearing in the same area three or four years later?
said McIntosh.

Scientists hypothesize that vortex formation is associated with a change in the direction of the Sun’s magnetic field. They also point out the importance of the polar region in the formation of the magnetic field, but the exact causes of the unusual vortex are unknown.

The ledge creates a vortex: watch the video

Meanwhile, scientists have recently made an important discovery about the corona, the outer part of the Sun’s atmosphere, by obtaining the first ultraviolet images. A special camera is placed on the meteorological satellite that captures only the ultraviolet light emitted by the Sun.