Accelerating the solar wind
Date: 08 July 1999
Satellite: SOHO
Copyright: NASA/Dana Berry, AlliedSignal max Q digital animation group.
The waves in the Sun's atmosphere are produced by vibrating solar magnetic field lines, which give solar wind particles a push just like an ocean wave gives a surfer a ride. This is shown in the middle image, with the vibrating magnetic field lines represented by white, wavy lines. The solar wind is made up of electrons and ions, electrically charged atoms that have lost electrons. They are represented here by red and green balls.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
