Researchers have finally pinpointed the likely origin of mysterious heartbeat-like signals spat out by the sun during solar flares. The findings could help us learn more about how potentially damaging solar storms are unleashed, a new study shows.
Solar radio bursts are streams of electromagnetic radiation — made up mainly of radio waves, as well as microwaves, ultraviolet radiation and X-rays — that get launched into space along with jets of superhot plasma, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), during solar flares.
Solar radio bursts, as well as some stellar radio bursts from distant stars, occasionally contain regularly repeating patterns known as quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs). These patterns involve brief breaks in the radiation stream, which create troughs and peaks when viewed on a graph, similar to an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a recording of the electrical signals from the heart.
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