Rivers in the Sun
Explanation:
The surface of the Sun is shifting. By watching
sunspots, it has long been known that our
Sun
rotates. It was also known that the center of the
Sun
rotates faster than the poles. Now, recent measurements by the
Solar Oscillations
Investigations group of the
SOHO Observatory have found that the
surface of the sun moves in other ways, too.
Hot, electrically charged gas flows along and beneath the
Sun's surface as depicted in the
above computer generated diagram. The speed of these
solar rivers
is false-color coded with red
hydrogen moving faster than blue. Over the course of a year
plasma moves from the equator to the poles,
while internal eddies circulate gas from deep inside the
Sun.
One surprise is the similarity to the motion of air in the
Earth's atmosphere - indicating that scientists might learn
more about
Earth's global weather by studying the
Sun.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.