By Laurence Togetti, MSC
April 17, 2025
What can helium-3 (3HE) be released from the sun that teach us about 3he creation and the activity of the sun? This is what hopes that a study recently published in the Astrophysical Journal as an international team of researchers in 3he-rich solar-energy particles (SEPS) at the end of 2023. This study has the potential to better understand the astronomers how solar activity to produce 3-year-hay activity in the production of the 3-year-olds, which of the last remains, can contribute to the upbringing of nuclarbus inception technology.
For the study, the researchers used the common NASA-ESA solar orbiter to the SEPs between 24-25. No.25, 2023 to be observed, which is currently in 0.47 astronomical units (Au) of the sun or just below half between the sun and earth. While Seps are made from solar sachors or coronal mass changes (CMES) that occur regularly, Seps typically freely fill substances with increased mirrors on heavy ions such as iron. Heavy ions are classified as possession of a nuclear number (z) over 10. However, the iron content (z = 26) In this SEP was found as normal, whereby the researchers were surprised, increased carbon levels (z = 6), nitrogen (z = 7), silicon (z = 14) and sulfur (z = 16) within the SEP.
The team then carried out a follow-up observation with the NASA solar dynamics observatory, which circles the earth in a circular, geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 35,789 kilometers (22,238 miles), so far away from the sun. In the end, SDO successfully identified the source of the SEP as a solar ray, which went out of the coronal hole, an area of the sun in which open magnetic field lines enable sun winds to flee into space and often have darker compared to the rest of the sun surface.
“Surprisingly, the magnetic field strength in this region was weak and more for calm solar areas than for active regions,” said Dr. Radoslav Bučík, astrophysicist at the Southwest Research Institute and the leading author of the study. “This finding supports previous theories that indicate that a 3 -year enrichment in weakly magnetized plasma is more likely where turbulence are minimal.”
Other helium 3 sources
The sun creates 3h from the nuclear fusion, which occurs in its massive core when it converts hydrogen into helium. While this is part of the natural processes of the sun that enable our planet to maintain life, the production of 3 in a laboratory or another earth -based basis has proven to be incredibly difficult due to the massive temperatures that must be duplicated, and often require at least 100 million degrees Celsius (180 million degrees pale).
While the mantle of the earth contains traces of 3he from the formation of the planet, its expiry has converted the majority of the original 3h-3 YHE into Helium-4 (4HE) over the years. Therefore, scientists have put up the hypothesis that the nearest place to obtain active samples from 3HE is the moon surface due to the daily bombing of the sunwind, which means that 3HE is embedded in the mondregolith (dust). However, it is estimated that a successful processing of 1 gram (0.025 ounces) of 3HE would be required about 150 tons of moon regolites to reduce. In addition, a successful nuclear fusion here on Earth must still be realized.
While humanity continues to struggle with nuclear fusion and the need for 3HE, this study shows the great power of the sun and how much we still do not know about its complex and complicated processes that are responsible for providing life -giving power here on earth.
What new discoveries about solar activities and 3he will astronomers do in the coming years and decades? Only time will say it, and that's why we know!
As always, they continue and continue looking!
