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Scientists did not find a visible aurora glowing on the Sun. They detected unusually long-lasting, highly polarized radio bursts coming from about 25,000 miles (40,000 km) above a sunspot. The signal shares key characteristics with auroral radio emissions from planets, but it is a radio phenomenon in the Sun’s atmosphere—not a light display on its surface.

What did scientists detect?

The bursts lasted for more than a week, far longer than the minutes or hours typical of ordinary solar radio bursts. Their source was located above a sunspot with a strong, converging magnetic field. The study’s analysis found the signal had high brightness temperature, broad bandwidth and a high degree of circular polarization—properties that resemble auroral radio emissions. Nature Astronomy published the peer-reviewed study online on 13 November 2023; it appears in volume 8 (2024). NASA also described the detection and its location above the sunspot in its report.

Was it a visible aurora on the Sun?

No. The discovery was a radio signal, not visible light that observers could see sweeping across the solar surface. The word “aurora-like” refers to the radio bursts’ properties and the proposed particle-and-magnetic-field process, not to a familiar colorful aurora in the sky.

How can the Sun produce aurora-like radio waves?

The study’s authors interpret the bursts as electron-cyclotron-maser emission. In their explanation, energetic electrons—probably supplied by recurring nearby flares—become trapped and accelerated in converging magnetic fields above the sunspot. As some electrons precipitate, they produce intense, polarized radio emission.

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This mechanism is supported by the observed source shape, frequency drift and polarization; the study did not directly image a stream of electrons. Because the Sun’s magnetic field is stronger than Earth’s, the proposed emission occurs at much higher radio frequencies than the few-hundred-kilohertz radio waves associated with terrestrial auroras.

Why is the signal unusual?

  • Its duration: The bursts continued for more than a week, compared with the minutes or hours common for ordinary solar radio bursts.
  • Its radio signature: High circular polarization and broad bandwidth, along with high brightness temperature, resemble diagnostic characteristics of auroral radio emission.
  • Its source location: The signal came from above a sunspot in a strong, converging magnetic field, a setting consistent with the proposed electron-trapping and precipitation process.

Auroral radio emissions are known from Earth, Jupiter and Saturn, as well as some magnetically active low-mass stars. The solar bursts shared relevant characteristics with those emissions, but were two to three orders of magnitude weaker than emissions from certain low-mass stars, according to the study.

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Could this help explain radio signals from other stars?

Possibly. Researchers have often explained aurora-like radio signals from flare stars with large starspots by invoking polar auroras. The solar detection suggests another possibility: magnetic structures above starspots may also trap and accelerate electrons, generating auroral-style radio emission. It does not establish that this mechanism explains every stellar signal, but it gives researchers a solar example to consider when interpreting radio observations of magnetically active stars.

For solar physicists, the finding also offers a way to investigate particle acceleration and magnetic structure above sunspots using radio observations.

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