The Sun is a very active star. At some periods in its life it has shown more activity than usual. An unusual Sun activity has been discovered in tree rings recently.
Tree rings are not only studied for the age of trees, but also on how the Earth was as well as how the tree reacts to its environment. Tree rings can give clues as to how the Earth was at specific points in time. This is how a team of researchers from Nagoya University has discovered an unusual Sun activity at an earlier time.
The researchers were also by others from the US and Switzerland. The unusual solar event happened around 1580 B.C. The researchers were able to detect this by measuring the carbon-14 on the tree rings. In this way they were able to see the effects of cosmic radiation during that time.
Activity from the Sun affects the Earth in many ways. This effect can be seen on trees and plants most especially. Any changes on the Sun's activity would then affect them as well as other living things.
Scientists can measure how active the Sun is by measuring carbon-14 from tree rings. When the Sun is inactive, carbon-14 increases in the atmosphere. This is then reflected on tree rings as well.
For the study, researchers have noted an unusual amount of carbon-14 in samples taken from bristlecone pine in California. Researchers have found an abrupt rise in carbon-14 at around 1580 B.C. For reliability of data, laboratories in the US, Japan and Switzerland have also contributed, as said by A.J. Timothy Jull from the University of Arizona.
The researchers are still trying to find out what exactly caused the unusual solar activity during that time, according to Nagoya University's site. Comparisons are being made between that and other solar events that have happened in the past. Fusa Miyake from Nagoya University has said that the likely cause might be a change of magnetic activity in the Sun that has been joined by strong solar bursts.
Additional studies would still be made in order to determine what exactly caused it, as Science Daily reports. A study of activities in other stars would also help in understanding how the Sun behaves. Studies would also continue on the samples taken.
The Sun affects the Earth in many ways. This has been shown when unusual Sun activity has been discovered in tree rings. A study has found that low oxygen delayed evolution billions of years ago.
