태양: 우리 별이 생명과 과학에 미치는 영향

### 태양 태양: 우리의 평생 동반자이자 우주의 수수께끼
* ☀ 태양은 우리가 매일 보는 별일 뿐만 아니라 **광합성을 하고 에너지를 공급하는 등 지구 생명체에 필수적인 존재**인 동시에 예측할 수 없는 격렬한 현상의 원인이기도 합니다.
* 🔭 천체 물리학자로서 저는 태양의 복잡성에 매료되어 있지만, **태양에 대해 아직 배울 것이 많다**는 것을 자주 느낍니다.
* 🌌 우리 태양을 포함한 별은 크기와 종류가 다양하며, 별똥별은 성운으로 만들어졌지만 **우리 태양만큼 우리에게 중요한 별은 없습니다.**
* ⚡ 1859년의 캐링턴 사건은 태양의 힘을 잘 보여주는 사례로, 오늘날 **지구자기 폭풍이 어떻게 기술을 방해하고 잠재적으로 수조 달러의 비용**을 초래할 수 있는지를 보여줍니다.
* 🌡 태양은 **태양계 질량의 99.8% 이상**을 차지하고 있으며, 핵융합이 일어나는 **섭씨 1,500만도 이상의 온도**에 도달해 지구에서 복제할 경우 무한한 청정 에너지를 제공할 수 있는 잠재력을 지니고 있습니다.
* 🚀 2018년에 발사된 파커 태양 탐사선은 **태양 코로나를 탐사하는 최초의 우주선**으로, **태양풍과 코로나 질량 방출에 대한 획기적인 통찰력**을 제공합니다.
* 🌍 태양을 이해하는 것은 태양이 지구의 기후와 에너지 시스템에 미치는 영향을 예측하는 데 필수적이며, 특히 **미래에 영향을 미칠 수 있는 태양 활동이 최소화된 시기**를 지나고 있을 수 있기 때문에 더욱 그렇습니다.
* 🔍 태양에 대한 관측과 지식을 발전시키면서 우리는 과학적 이해뿐만 아니라 **인류의 미래 자체를 형성하는 모험**에 착수합니다.

태양은 지구의 생명체에 영향을 미치며 우리의 존재를 결정짓는 동시에 우리의 미래에 중요한 비밀을 간직하고 있습니다.

Allow me to introduce you to the celestial body that holds the most significance for us all: the Sun. You might say, I already know the Sun. I've seen it every day for my entire life. Yes, Earth’s star is our lifelong companion. It is our mood booster, our plant grower, our sometimes too-much-of-a-good-thing skin scorcher. We all know, love, and admire the Sun. I'm an astrophysicist. I live for studying the Sun, its complexity, and the weird and powerful weather system it creates. Sometimes when I get so into it, which is most of the time anyway, my wife will ask, Are you also married to the Sun? (Laughter) And I say, “Technically no ... (Laughter) But if it doesn't upset you too much, yes. (Laughter) Now, having said that, I'm not sure where I'm going to sleep tonight.

So I can confirm that we know the Sun better than any stellar system in the whole universe. But I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Sometimes I feel like we don't know the Sun at all. As a child, I was captivated by the sky glittering with stars, which are nothing but distant suns. Lie on your back on a summer night, look up at the heavens. And there you have it. Whichever direction you look, there is a star shining at you. Another Sun. That was the start of the journey of wonder and curiosity. Stars come in all sizes and flavors, from monsters to dwarfs. If we were to draw up the largest known star in the universe into our solar system, it would extend well beyond the orbit of Jupiter. The smallest is about the same size as the planet Saturn. But no matter the size and type, stars hold great significance for us. We are all made of stardust.

Star babies. Yet no star holds greater significance for our past, our present, and our future than our very own. The Sun is responsible for life on Earth, powering photosynthesis, warming the planet, providing clean and free energy. But it is also violent, explosive, and unpredictable. Here's what I mean. The Northern Lights are beautiful and mesmerizing, right? On September 1, 1859, people could see Aurora even in daytime around the entire globe. Turns out, that was the result of the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history. This was the Carrington event. It was likely a giant coronal mass ejection, or CME, that disrupted telegraph lines and sparked fires at their stations. Can you imagine the repercussions of such a storm today? It could shut down the entire power grid not for hours, but weeks and months or even years. The potential for human distress in the affected areas

is well beyond our scale of comprehension. The economic impact alone could be in the trillions of dollars. So learning about the one star in the universe that humans cannot do without is vital. And that's what physicists like me are trying to do. So what do we know already? The Sun holds over 99.8 percent of the solar system's total mass. Its sheer size is mind-boggling, requiring more than 1.3 million Earths to fill its volume. All of that mass is in the form of plasma, a glowing soup of electrically charged particles. At the solar core, gravity is exceedingly high, producing temperatures in excess of 15 million degrees Celsius. The extreme pressure forces the protons to come together and fuse into helium while releasing a burst of energy. This is nuclear fusion, and if we can replicate this process sustainably on Earth, it would provide almost limitless clean energy.

to power the entire globe. Many of us have witnessed a total solar eclipse like the one in 2024. This fascinating celestial spectacle has captivated humans for millennia, as the moon gracefully positioned itself between us and the Sun, the solar corona burst forth in all its majestic splendor. But the corona also harbors some of the most perplexing phenomena. The solar surface is plenty hot, 6,000 degrees. Hot enough to melt anything we know. But in the corona, we're talking millions of degrees Celsius. How can it be over 300 times hotter despite being the Sun's outermost layer? Physicists have suggested since the '50s that all of that heat must generate a constant flow of particles. This is a solar wind. It speeds away at up to three million kilometers per hour. At that speed, you can get from the Earth to the moon in under 20 minutes. This cosmic stream is like celestial rapids.

And that's where we live. Behind all this is the Sun's magnetism. As solar magnetic fields twist, bend, and tangle, they store enormous amounts of energy. And when they snap, huge explosions like flares and coronal mass ejections release this energy and turn it into heat, accelerating the plasma. It takes only a handful of these strong events to fulfill our current energy needs for some 200,000 years. That is the whole span of modern human existence. The Sun does that in minutes to a few hours. These same explosions propel particles to nearly the speed of light and turn them into formidable hazards to spacecraft and to humans in space. Does the loss of 40 SpaceX satellites ring a bell? A moderate solar storm knocked them out. Our power grid can fall victim like in March 1989, in the northeast of the US-Canada, when a succession of solar storms caused an intense geomagnetic storm.

Even deep seas can be affected. In 1972, dozens of sea mines spontaneously exploded. The likely cause? You guessed it. A powerful coronal mass ejection. So we need to learn how the Sun does all this and more. Since the dawn of the space age, NASA has wanted to fly a spacecraft as close as possible to the Sun to solve these mysteries. But getting very close to a star is extremely risky and really hard. How would we protect a probe from just melting? How could it adjust for any problem on its own when you cannot communicate with it? Until recently, we simply didn't possess the technology. In 2018, that all changed with the launch of Parker Solar Probe. Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to ever fly through the solar corona. It has revolutionized our understanding of the Sun. In five-plus years, we've already learned so much. We now know how the solar wind is generated at its source.

We are the closest ever to understanding what heats and accelerates the plasma in the corona and the solar wind. And we have the most detailed observation of coronal mass ejections. Can you hear that? (Wind-like sounds) This is one of the most powerful CMEs ever recorded. It erupted on September 5, 2022, and it was traveling at more than 2,500 kilometers per second when it hit our brave probe very close to the Sun. For days, we didn't know where the Parker Solar Probe made it or not because it was on the backside of the Sun. But once it emerged on the other side, it called back, saying everything is fine, and we have a ton of data for you that will give you an unprecedented look at how these events accelerate particles to almost the speed of light and sweep almost everything in their way, leaving a near-perfect vacuum behind. And that is just a sampling.

We cannot catch a breath with this mission. Every three months, we have a close approach to the Sun and a new load of data to investigate. It's overwhelming at times, but this data will serve many generations to come. Parker Solar Probe is a true mission for the ages. So are you curious, how did we do it? Parker Solar Probe is not a large spacecraft. It could fit under a basketball hoop and carries about half the weight of a compact car, but it is a marvel of technology. The only thing standing between the probe and incineration is an ingenious 11.5-centimeter thick, 2.3-meter wide carbon foam shield. On Christmas Eve 2024, the shield's Sun-facing side will endure about 1,000 degrees Celsius. About one meter behind, it’s almost room temperature. How does Parker shed all that heat? This special ceramic coating on top of the heat shield reflects as much light as possible.

The heat shield itself absorbs a huge amount of heat and radiates it elsewhere. Meanwhile, a network of tiny pipes runs through the solar panels, extracting heat and expelling it through the radiators. It uses a liquid-based cooling system. The liquid? A simple gallon of water. Cheers. (Applause) All this system will be operating on December 24, 2024, when Parker Solar Probe achieves humanity's closest-ever approach to a star. This will be a monumental and audacious achievement. In '69, we landed humans on the moon. In '24, we’re going to embrace the star. So all this is very cool, amazing science and really fun to geek out about. It also happens to be vitally important for your lives and to mine. Delving into the Sun's history, we discover periods when it entered long, tranquil phases that lasted for decades. During these times, called the [grand solar] minima,

solar activity diminished to the point of near nonexistence. Along with extreme climate conditions on Earth. One such episode lasted for an astounding seven decades, from 1645 to 1715, and it coincided with the Little Ice Age. This episode seems to occur every 200 to 300 years or so. Now here's the thrilling intrigue. We are overdue. Is the Sun about to enter a new and extended lull of minimal activity? When will it happen? How long will it last? How deep will it be? We don't know. The most important thing, however, is what impact this phenomenon could have on our lives, our movements, our energy, our food sources. How will it affect our climate and our atmosphere? The Sun is not a driver in Earth's current changing climate. But if it enters an extended period of tranquility, how much could it slow the pace? Again, we don't really know.

To answer all these critical questions that shape the fate of our society, we must unlock the Sun's secret from its fiery core to its outer reaches. For our future, for the world we leave behind, for our children and theirs, we must transform the way we observe the Sun and deepen our understanding of how it influences its surroundings. In particular, our cherished planet Earth. Without doubt, this undertaking poses formidable challenges. But it's another adventure unlike any we've been on before. Here lies yet again another opportunity to transcend ourselves and forge ahead with our epic journey of progress and prosperity. For better or worse, the Sun dictates our past, our present, and our destiny. Thank you. (Applause)

The Probe on a Mission To Touch the Sun | Nour E. Rawafi | TED

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태양은 우리의 기분과 식물의 성장에 영향을 미치는 동시에 복잡하고 강력한 기상 시스템을 만들어내는 우리의 영원한 동반자입니다.

태양에 대한 광범위한 연구에도 불구하고 예측할 수 없고 폭력적인 태양의 본성은 여전히 미스터리로 남아 있습니다.

태양은 지구에 생명과 에너지를 제공하고 1859년 캐링턴 사건과 같이 현대 전력망을 장기간 중단시킬 가능성이 있는 심각한 지자기 폭풍을 일으킬 정도로 지구에 미치는 영향이 매우 큽니다.

8% 이상을 차지하며 태양의 핵은 섭씨 1,500만도 이상의 온도에 도달하여 핵융합을 주도하고 잠재적으로 무한한 청정 에너지를 제공합니다.

태양 코로나는 가장 바깥층임에도 불구하고 태양 표면보다 300배 이상 뜨겁고, 입자가 끊임없이 흐르면서 최대 시속 300만 킬로미터의 속도로 태양풍을 일으킵니다.

태양의 자기장은 엄청난 양의 에너지를 저장하고 방출하여 지구의 우주선과 전력망에 큰 영향을 미칠 수 있는 폭발적인 현상을 일으킵니다.

태양이 지구에 미치는 영향과 파커 태양 탐사선

코로나 질량 방출과 같은 태양의 활동은 심각한 영향을 미칠 수 있으며 심지어 해저 지뢰를 폭발시킬 수도 있습니다.

2018년에 발사된 NASA의 파커 태양 탐사선은 태양 코로나를 통과한 최초의 우주선으로, 태양에 대한 우리의 이해를 혁신적으로 변화시켰습니다.

이 탐사선은 태양풍, 코로나 질량 방출 및 입자 가속에 대한 귀중한 데이터를 제공하여 이러한 강력한 태양 현상에 대한 전례 없는 통찰력을 제공했습니다.

파커 태양 탐사선: 시대를 위한 미션

파커 태양 탐사선은 3개월마다 태양에 가까이 접근하여 미래 세대에 도움이 될 압도적인 데이터를 제공합니다.

이 우주선은 작지만 탄소 폼 쉴드로 극심한 열로부터 보호하는 첨단 기술을 갖추고 있습니다.

이 탐사선은 1갤런의 물을 포함한 독특한 냉각 시스템을 사용하여 열을 방출하고 2024년 12월 24일에 인류 역사상 가장 가까운 별 접근에 성공할 것입니다.

태양의 활동은 과거에 크게 감소했으며, 1645년부터 1715년까지 소빙기와 일치하는 주목할 만한 사건이 있었습니다.

이러한 태양 활동의 소강 상태는 200~300년마다 발생하는 것으로 보이며, 현재 우리는 또 한 번의 소강 상태를 맞이하고 있습니다.

새로운 장기간의 최소 태양 활동이 지구의 기후, 에너지, 식량 공급원에 미칠 잠재적 영향은 불확실하기 때문에 태양이 지구에 미치는 영향에 대한 더 깊은 이해의 필요성이 강조되고 있습니다.