(GoRealNewsNow.com) – Scientists were recently stunned by a tornado-like swirl that resulted in a significant portion of the sun breaking off, and that was captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and tweeted by Dr. Tamitha Skov, a space weather forecaster.
Dr. Skov referred to the phenomenon as a “polar vortex” and stated that the “implications for understanding the Sun’s atmospheric dynamics above 55° here cannot be overstated!”
The event was unusual, as it is typically only seen at the sun’s 55-degree latitudes once every 11-year solar cycle.
A prominence is a large, bright feature that extends from the sun’s surface, and other filament tear-aways have been observed in the past. However, this event was different.
Solar physicist Scott McIntosh, the deputy director at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, stated that researchers are not sure what causes such a unique event.
He said, “It’s very curious. There is a big ‘why’ question around it. Why does it only move toward the pole one time and then disappear and then come back, magically, three or four years later in exactly the same region?”
The sun’s magnetic field may be the cause of the polar vortex. However, the rest remains a mystery due to humanity’s limited view of the sun.
Scientists can only view the sun from the ecliptic plane, which is the geometric plane that contains the orbit of Earth. The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter mission, which is taking photos of the sun while raising its orbit beyond the ecliptic plane, may provide answers. Still, until then, researchers are left with more questions than answers.
Experts have observed solar projections before, such as last year’s solar flares that threatened to impact Earth.
These projections could disrupt GPS systems, power grids, and even radio signals, and there is no way to predict how this solar vortex would affect our planet precisely.
Just this month, the sun projected multiple “powerful” flares that disrupted communication on Earth. However, it appeared to be otherwise harmless. The sun is on its way to reaching its peak of activity during the current 11-year cycle in 2025.
