NASA researchers have revealed a nearby star which closely resembles the young Sun.&nbsp;

The new study aims to find out the details about the Sun and about the development of life on Earth.

"At 4.65 billion years old, our Sun is a middle-aged star," NASA said as curious scientists seek to find out how the Sun in its younger days supported life on Earth.

The author of the study, Vladimir Airapetian, senior astrophysicist in the Heliophysics Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland said he was trying to "reconstruct baby photos" of the Sun with the new star which has similar characteristics to the Sun.

NASA said the new stars emit&nbsp;stellar winds made of superhot gas known as plasma. The US space agency said the most energetic plasma can shoot off away from the outermost and hottest part of a star’s atmosphere in an eruption with steam rising towards nearby planets as stellar wind.

The space agency said younger stars generate hotter stellar winds leading to more "powerful plasma eruptions" than older stars which can affect the atmosphere of nearby planets impacting it&nbsp;at any stage.

NASA scientists said that the Sun in its youth rotated three times faster and had a stronger magnetic field&nbsp;also released more energy including radiation and particles. The particles are now sometimes visible near the planet’s poles as aurora, or the Northern and Southern Lights.&nbsp;

The scientists are seeking to uncover the mystery behind the Sun's youth although they agree it is a complicated process which will involve several years as new tools and ways of thinking need&nbsp;to be put in place to seek answers.

Scientists say the complicating factors in the study of the young Sun includes distance since it is still&nbsp;not possible to directly observe the stellar wind of other stars in the galaxy since it is too far away.

The study, therefore, relies on "scientific modelling" based on predictions on existing scientific data.&nbsp;

Previous studies have drawn on data gathered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to identify Kappa 1 Ceti as a young solar proxy, it said.

(With inputs from Agencies)

NASA researchers have revealed a nearby star which closely resembles the young Sun. The new study aims to find out the details about the Sun and about the development of life on Earth.

NASA researchers have revealed a nearby star which closely resembles the young Sun. The new study aims to find out the details about the Sun and about the development of life on Earth. "At 4.65 billion years old, our Sun is a middle-aged star," NASA said as curious scientists seek to find out how the Sun in its younger days supported life on Earth. The author of the study, Vladimir Airapetian, senior astrophysicist in the Heliophysics Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland said he was trying to "reconstruct baby photos" of the Sun with the new star which has similar characteristics to the Sun. NASA said the new stars emit stellar winds made of superhot gas known as plasma. The US space agency said the most energetic plasma can shoot off away from the outermost and hottest part of a star’s atmosphere in an eruption with steam rising towards nearby planets as stellar wind. The space agency said younger stars generate hotter stellar winds leading to more "powerful plasma eruptions" than older stars which can affect the atmosphere of nearby planets impacting it at any stage. NASA scientists said that the Sun in its youth rotated three times faster and had a stronger magnetic field also released more energy including radiation and particles. The particles are now sometimes visible near the planet’s poles as aurora, or the Northern and Southern Lights. The scientists are seeking to uncover the mystery behind the Sun's youth although they agree it is a complicated process which will involve several years as new tools and ways of thinking need to be put in place to seek answers. Scientists say the complicating factors in the study of the young Sun includes distance since it is still not possible to directly observe the stellar wind of other stars in the galaxy since it is too far away. The study, therefore, relies on "scientific modelling" based on predictions on existing scientific data. Previous studies have drawn on data gathered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to identify Kappa 1 Ceti as a young solar proxy, it said. (With inputs from Agencies)

NASA model: This is how the Sun looked like in its youth

Ever wondered what causes nature's light shows commonly known as auroras which illuminate the skies at Earth’s poles? Scientists may have finally found the answer. For long, it was well established that auroras were caused by solar storms but it wasn’t clear what processes led to the event… until now!

Essentially, auroras appear on Earth when bursts of radiation with charged particles from the Sun hit magnetic fields in the atmosphere.

Turns out, the whole process is driven by electrons. In a new research compiled over 20 years and published in Nature, scientists attempt to explain the cause of such solar outbursts.&nbsp;

What do solar storms do?

In many ways, solar storms bend the magnetic field of our planet. When that happens, the mesmerising auroras emerge. For long, scientists attributed this to Alfvén waves - which refers to what happens to magnetic fields after they’re struck by solar storms, but they were only able to prove it now.&nbsp;When the magnetic field is temporary disrupted, it attempts to go back to its original place, due to which electrons are accelerated in the atmosphere.&nbsp;

These electrons are extremely excited to show off. And when they charge at the oxygen and nitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere, what we witness is a mesmerising show in the skies called auroras.

<img alt="Aurora" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d82c133d-b9f0-4119-adc1-b133bc5e2560" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/oof%20%284%29_1.jpg" />

Essentially, our magnetic field is like a rubber band which releases energy every time it is stretched. And what’s stretching it? Solar storms! And while it snaps back into its original shape, the electron-laden process kicks in, giving us a glimpse into the wonders of the universe.

In the North Pole, it’s called aurora borealis and in the South Pole, the magnificent feast in the sky is referred to as aurora australis.&nbsp;

What did the scientists do to prove the role played by Alfvén waves?

They simply created their own. According to the paper’s lead author James Schroeder, who is a physicist at the Wheaton College, such waves can be created by producing “disturbances in magnetized plasma”. To achieve this, they turned to the “Large Plasma Device” at the University of California in Los Angeles.

But producing an Alfvén wave isn’t easy and the device hadn’t been ever used for this purpose.&nbsp; But once scientists were able to create the waves, to everybody’s amazement the electrons achieved high energies propelled by the Alfvén waves. Essentially, the scientists found that they were right and auroras could be triggered in polar skies by solar storms coming in contact with the magnetic field with the assistance of Alfvén waves.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/earth-has-a-heartbeat-and-nobody-knows-what-causes-it-392975" hreflang="en">Earth has a 'heartbeat' and nobody knows what causes it</a>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/indian-scientists-discover-four-near-earth-asteroids-in-nasa-backed-research-programme-393060" hreflang="en">Indian scientists discover four near-Earth asteroids in NASA-backed research programme</a>

Ever wondered what causes nature's light shows commonly known as auroras which illuminate the skies at Earth’s poles? Scientists may have finally found the answer.

Ever wondered what causes nature's light shows commonly known as auroras which illuminate the skies at Earth’s poles? Scientists may have finally found the answer. For long, it was well established that auroras were caused by solar storms but it wasn’t clear what processes led to the event… until now! Essentially, auroras appear on Earth when bursts of radiation with charged particles from the Sun hit magnetic fields in the atmosphere. Turns out, the whole process is driven by electrons. In a new research compiled over 20 years and published in Nature, scientists attempt to explain the cause of such solar outbursts. What do solar storms do? In many ways, solar storms bend the magnetic field of our planet. When that happens, the mesmerising auroras emerge. For long, scientists attributed this to Alfvén waves - which refers to what happens to magnetic fields after they’re struck by solar storms, but they were only able to prove it now. When the magnetic field is temporary disrupted, it attempts to go back to its original place, due to which electrons are accelerated in the atmosphere. These electrons are extremely excited to show off. And when they charge at the oxygen and nitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere, what we witness is a mesmerising show in the skies called auroras. Essentially, our magnetic field is like a rubber band which releases energy every time it is stretched. And what’s stretching it? Solar storms! And while it snaps back into its original shape, the electron-laden process kicks in, giving us a glimpse into the wonders of the universe. In the North Pole, it’s called aurora borealis and in the South Pole, the magnificent feast in the sky is referred to as aurora australis. What did the scientists do to prove the role played by Alfvén waves? They simply created their own. According to the paper’s lead author James Schroeder, who is a physicist at the Wheaton College, such waves can be created by producing “disturbances in magnetized plasma”. To achieve this, they turned to the “Large Plasma Device” at the University of California in Los Angeles. But producing an Alfvén wave isn’t easy and the device hadn’t been ever used for this purpose. But once scientists were able to create the waves, to everybody’s amazement the electrons achieved high energies propelled by the Alfvén waves. Essentially, the scientists found that they were right and auroras could be triggered in polar skies by solar storms coming in contact with the magnetic field with the assistance of Alfvén waves. Also read: Earth has a 'heartbeat' and nobody knows what causes it Also read: Indian scientists discover four near-Earth asteroids in NASA-backed research programme

We finally know what causes mesmerising auroras in polar night skies!

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NASA model: This is how the Sun looked like in its youth

We finally know what causes mesmerising auroras in polar night skies!