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New research suggests that the sun’s magnetic field forms much closer to the surface than scientists had thought.
新的研究表明，太阳磁场距离比科学家们想象的要近得多。
The finding could help predict periods of extreme solar storms like the ones that hit Earth earlier this month.
这一发现有助于预测极端太阳风暴时期，比如本月初袭击地球的太阳风暴。
The magnetic field appears to form 32,000 kilometers under the sun’s surface.
磁场似乎形成于太阳表面下32,000公里处。
Earlier estimates suggested the formation began more than 209,000 kilometers below the sun’s surface, an international team reported last week.
一个国际研究小组上周报道，早期预估表明，太阳风暴的形成始于太阳表面下方超过20.9万公里处。
The sun’s strong magnetic energy is the source of solar flares and bursts of plasma known as coronal mass ejections.
太阳的强磁能是太阳耀斑和被称为日冕物质抛射的等离子体爆发的来源。
Plasma is a gas that creates an electromagnetic field.
等离子体是一种能产生电磁场的气体。
When directed toward Earth, the bursts create colorful displays in the sky.
当冲向地球时，其爆发会在天空中产生五颜六色的景象。
Such displays are also known as auroras.
这一景象也被称为极光。
Auroras can also affect power and communications.
极光也会影响电力和通讯。
Geoffrey Vasil is a professor at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Mathematics.
杰弗里·瓦西尔是爱丁堡大学数学学院的教授。
He is a lead writer of the new study, which appeared in the publication Nature.
他是这项新研究的主要作者，该研究发表在《自然》杂志上。
Vasil said, "We still don’t understand the sun well enough to make accurate predictions” of space weather.
瓦西尔说，“我们对太阳的了解还不够深入，无法对太空天气做出准确的预测”。
The Italian scientist Galileo was among the first astronomers to study sunspots.
意大利科学家伽利略是最早研究太阳黑子的天文学家之一。
He did so in the early 1600s.
他在17世纪初就开始研究了。
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections often occur near sunspots.
太阳耀斑和日冕物质抛射经常发生在太阳黑子附近。
The dark spots as big as Earth are located near the most intense parts of the sun’s changing magnetic field.
与地球一样大的暗斑位于太阳变化磁场最强烈的部分附近。
Vasil and his team created new models of the interaction between the sun’s magnetic field and the flow of plasma.
瓦西尔和他的团队创建了太阳磁场和等离子体流动之间相互作用的新模型。
The interaction varies at different latitudes during an 11-year cycle.
在11年的周期中，这种相互作用在不同的纬度上是不同的。
The team then entered their calculations into a NASA supercomputer in California.
然后，该团队将他们的计算输入到加州的NASA超级计算机中。
The results suggested a shallow magnetic field.
结果表明，这是一个浅磁场。
More research is needed to confirm the finding, however.
然而，还需要更多的研究来证实这一发现。
The new knowledge should improve long-term solar forecasts, permitting scientists to better predict the strength of the sun’s future cycles.
这一新知识应该会改进长期的太阳预测，使科学家能够更好地预测未来太阳周期的强度。
The sun is nearing its peak level of activity in the current 11-year cycle.
太阳活动正接近当前11年周期中的峰值水平。
This is a reason for the recent solar storms.
这就是最近产生太阳风暴的原因之一。
Strong solar flares and outbursts of billions of tons of plasma earlier this month created severe solar storms that produced auroras in unexpected places.
本月早些时候，强烈的太阳耀斑和数十亿吨等离子体的爆发造成了巨大的太阳风暴，在意想不到的地方产生了极光。
Earlier this month, the sun released its biggest solar flare in almost 20 years, but it avoided Earth.
太阳也在本月早期释放了近20年来最大的太阳耀斑，但它避开了地球。
Daniel Lecoanet is a professor at Northwestern University in Illinois.
丹尼尔·莱科亚内是伊利诺伊州西北大学的教授。
He is one of the study’s co-writers.
他是该研究的合著者之一。
He said better understanding of the sun can help make sure that "we are prepared for when the next storm — potentially much more dangerous — hits Earth.
他说，更好地了解太阳有助于确保“我们为下一场风暴--可能更危险--袭击地球做好准备。”
I’m Dan Novak.
我是丹·诺瓦克。
