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Acoustic Wave Resonating in Sun's Interior
Caption:
This computer-generated image shows an acoustic wave resonating in the interior of the sun. Similar to a sound wave when it moves through the air, the solar acoustic wave moves through the gaseous sun in the form of alternating zones of compression and rarefaction. At the same time, they displace solar gases—regions shown in red are momentarily receding with respect to the viewer and regions in blue are approaching. Although such waves resonate deep within the sun, they generate oscillations at the surface that can be detected from the earth.
This image was generated as part of the National Science Foundation-supported GONG (Global Oscillation Network Group).
More about this Image:
The Global Oscillation Network Group--or GONG, is an international project led by the National Science Foundation that provides continuous observations of the sun, monitoring the surface and tracking its tiny oscillations 24 hours a day. These oscillations are visual evidence of the sound waves traveling through the sun's interior. The science of studying wave oscillations in the Sun is called Helioseismology.
Helioseismology utilizes waves that propagate throughout the Sun to measure for the first time, the invisible internal structure and dynamics of a star. In order to exploit this new technique, GONG has developed a six-station network of solar velocity imagers located around the Earth to obtain continuous observations of the oscillations of the Sun. The six sites comprising the GONG Network include (a) in the United States, the Big Bear Solar Observatory, Big Bear City, California, and the High Altitude Observatory, Mauna Loa, Hawaii; in Western Australia, the Learmonth Solar Observatory; in India, the Udaipur Solar Observatory; in the Canary Islands, the Observatorio del Teide; and in Chile, the Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory.
(Preview Only)
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| Credit: |
Credit John W. Harvey, National Solar Observatory |
| Year of Image: |
1985 |
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Categories:
ASTRONOMY / Helioseismology
Formats Available:
Restrictions:
No additional restrictions--beyond NSF's general restrictions--have been placed on this image. For a list of general restrictions that apply to this and all images in the NSF Image Library, see the section "Conditions".
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