Sunquakes may be caused by weird beams of electrons from solar flares

Mysterious ripples in the sun’s plasma have gone unexplained for decades, but they may be caused by strange beams of high-energy electrons fired inward by solar flares

By Leah Crane

We may finally know what causes sunquakes. The cause of these strange rumbles within the sun has divided solar physicists for decades, but a new study has found that they may come from beams of high-energy electrons burrowing through the outer layers of the sun.

Sunquakes are waves in the sun’s photosphere – the surface from which its light shines – that ripple across the star like the waves from a pebble tossed in a lake. They are usually associated with …