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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.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Sun
Publications with words: Sun
See also:
- APOD: 2024 September 2 Á A Triangular Prominence Hovers Over the Sun
- APOD: 2024 August 18 Á A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO
- APOD: 2024 August 4 Á Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
- APOD: 2024 July 28 Á Sun Dance
- Prominences and Filaments on the Active Sun
- APOD: 2024 May 28 Á Solar X Flare as Famous Active Region Returns
- APOD: 2024 May 26 Á A Solar Filament Erupts