The Sun, at the moment, is highly active as it moves to the peak in its current solar cycle and the star in our solar system can be dramatic depending on its mood. One such dramatic event happened three years ago.
April 17, 2021, was supposed to be a period of solar calmness, but then a brilliant flash erupted and an enormous cloud of solar material exploded from the star in our solar system. But what was different about this explosion was the high-speed protons and electrons that were hurtled in outer space.
These particles were hurtled at such high energy that they were nearing the speed of light. They struck five spacecraft on guard in the inner solar system, and now we know what happened.
It was the first time such high-speed protons and electrons – called solar energetic particles (SEPs) – were observed by spacecraft.
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