Sun's Exotic 'Lighthouse' Pulses Captured on Camera for First Time

[Sanguine]

By Elizabeth Howell 3 days ago Science & Astronomy

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this view of a solar flare in 2015. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this view of a solar flare in 2015.

(Image: © NASA/SDO)

Scientists have finally captured some exotic solar activity on camera. A new study gives photographic proof that a substance called plasma on the sun sends out radio light in pulses, much like a lighthouse flashing its beam on Earth.

Plasma, which makes up most of the sun, is often called the "fourth state of matter," coming after the more familiar forms of solid, liquid and gas. Plasma is an electrically conductive gas that occurs when negatively charged electrons are stripped from the gas in a process known as ionization.

While plasma is common in space, it's found rarely on Earth,...


https://www.space.com/scientists-image-solar-lighthouse-pulse.html