Discovery of slow waves on the sun could shed light on magnetic field mystery

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Never-before seen slow waves of plasma on the surface of the sun have been discovered in data gathered by NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory over the past ten years.

Discovery of slow waves on the sun could shed light on magnetic field mystery : Read more

 

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The space.com article says, "As part of a new study, the scientists used computer models to recreate those waves and gain insight into their origin. They found that their motion is likely driven by the fact that different areas of the sun rotate at different velocities, a phenomenon known as the differential rotation of the sun. For example, while polar regions complete one rotation every 34.4 days, the sun's equator spins around the axes within 25 days."

The 25 day period at the Sun's equator indicates the rotation speed is about 2 km/s. According to stellar evolution modeling, the Sun some 4.5 billion years ago was spinning at some 25 km/s or faster (2 day period). However, using telescopes going back to the days of Galileo, the Sun rotation period observed today is what we do see and can measure directly