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New research shows that the sun’s magnetic field originates near the surface, not deep inside the star. . This overturns decades of prevailing scientific thought that placed the field more than 130,000 miles below the sun’s surface. It also brings us closer to understanding the nature of the Sun’s magnetic field, which has been on the minds of scientists since Galileo’s time.

The study and a team of international researchers suggest that the magnetic field is actually generated 20,000 miles below the surface. This was discovered after the team ran a series of complex calculations on a NASA supercomputer. It is worth noting that these are only initial findings and more research is needed to confirm the data.

The sun’s magnetic field oscillates in a cycle that lasts 11 years. During the strongest part of this cycle, strong winds and sunspots form at the Sun’s equator, along with clouds of material they cause here on Earth. Previous theories that placed the magnetic field deeper in the sun had difficulty connecting these different solar phenomena. Scientists hope that with further study they will be able to use this theory not only to explain the creation of solar events, but also to more accurately predict when they will occur.

This could lead to more than earlier predictions of the next aurora event. The sun’s intense magnetic energy is also the source of solar flares and plasma eruptions called coronal mass ejections. When these ejections travel to Earth, all sorts of bad things happen. This famously happened in 1859, when a giant geomagnetic storm created the largest solar storm in recorded history.

This is attributed to the British astronomer Richard Christopher Carrington. The solar flare, which was actually a magnetic explosion on the sun’s surface, briefly eclipsed the sun and caused colorful lights to erupt across the planet, similar to the aurora borealis. He also charged the telegraph cables, shocked the operators and set fire to the telegraph paper. It was pretty nasty.

Now, this was 1859, before the modern use of electricity and before computers and all related technology. If something like the Carrington event happened today, . The emitted X-rays and ultraviolet light would affect electronics, radio and satellite signals. The event would cause a storm of solar radiation that would be deadly for astronauts not fully equipped with protective equipment.

It would also cause a coronal mass ejection to collide with Earth’s magnetic field, which , mobile phone satellites, modern cars and even airplanes. The resulting global blackouts could last for months. The small (relatively speaking) storm of last month and it was not a Carrington-scale event. Even worse? We are absolutely committed to making this happen. It’s basically a ticking time bomb.

So these findings could, in theory, be used to devise new early warning methods for large-scale solar flares hitting Earth. Someday we may have solar flare warnings along with hurricane warnings and the like. Research has already shown some interesting connections between sunspots and the sun’s magnetic activity.

“We still don’t understand the sun well enough to make accurate predictions” about solar weather, study lead author Geoffrey Vasil of the University of Edinburgh . These new findings “will be an important step toward finally solving” this mysterious Northwestern University process.

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