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Show 1 -- photosphere & sunspots -->
SUN COURSE - SLIDE SHOW 2
1. Introduction, 2. Magnetic fields, 3. Corona
1. INTRODUCTION: PS Age of Sun ? If Sun consists of coal, it could generate heat/light for …
a few thousand yrs Kelvin (1862) - if Sun slowly contracts (grav. Energy -> heat), it could have illuminated Earth for … 100 m yrs !
Radioactivity discovered -> Earth rocks older than this !!
Paradox resolved - new source heat discovered - nuclear fusionRadioactive dating method (eg uranium --> lead):
- measure ratio masses + rate of decay--> time since rocks have formed
Oldest rocks in s. system (Moon/meteorites) formed 4.6b yrs ago -- when Sun thought to have been born
PS Diffusion
QuickTime™ and aYUV420 codec decompressorare needed to see this picture.
Start with field B0(x) and watch diffuse.
Current density
Ionosphere --> Sun (8 light mins)
Learn basic behaviour of plasma from Sun
stars (4 light years) [At 186,000 miles per sec, 1 light year = 6 trillion
miles]
MOST of UNIVERSE is PLASMA:
Eqns of Magnetohydrodynamics PDE's for v and B as
functions of x,y,z,t
As beautiful as the Sun !! -- Nonlinear
Impossible to solve completely
So approximate in imaginative ways --
ODE's or PDE's and solve (standard techs)
--> Construct models for many dynamic phenomena on Sun
ATMOSPHERE
Photosphere --> Sunspots
Galileo discovered (1610) w. telescope
-- Greeks, Chinese
? Planets, clouds,
smoke, slag
Dark because cool
Surprise (1908):
site of strong magnetic field
White -- towards you; Black -- away from you
Regions around sunspots -- "Active Regions"
SURPRISES: -- patterns of sunspots
-- intense magnetic fields over whole Sun
2. MAGNETIC MAP ("Magnetogram")
Movie
QuickTime™ and aYUV420 codec decompressor
are needed to see this picture.But why the active region
patterns ?
In interior, plasma dominates --> moves B
Rotation shears B
Magnetic Field (B) and Plasma Coupled
B exerts force on plasma -- move together
--> 2 tubes B --> Emerge:
Global Magnetic Field of Sun
Spreads out --> remnant active region
Merges --> unipolar region -- one dominant polarity
Migrates to the poles --> polar field
At photosphere <|B|> ~ 3 - 20 G, but most is strong (1 kG) & vertical
(i) ACTIVE REGION FLUX
Emerges as
•sunspots (B = 3 kG, flux = 1022
Mx)
* active regions --> faculae (bright)
Solar Cycle Sunspots vary with period 8-15 years (average 11.1 yr) Two zones between -35o and +35o latitude
In opposite hemispheres, leading spots have opposite polarities (Hale) Leading polarity is closer to equator (Joy)
New spots emerge at start of cycle at high latitudes w. opposite polarity
As cycle progresses, spots form at lower latitudes (Sporer)
Polar Fields: * maximum extent at s. minimum * change polarity 1-2 years after s. maximum
(ii) Quiet Sun - Network mixed polarity -- at edge of supergranule cells -- covers Sun at s. minimum
ephemeral active regions (1019 Mx) -- emerge & migrate to boundary
--> network fragments (F = 2x1018 Mx, B = 1 kG) -- at edges of cells
internetwork fragments (F = 6x1016 Mx, B = 10-100 G ?) -- inside cells
("crown") -- See at ECLIPSE of Sun
Faint open structures -- Bright closed structuresSURPRISE (1868) -- Light from new element "Helium"SURPRISE (1940) -- Temperature is million degrees !!!!
3. CORONA
T = Million --> Corona is NOT a normal gas !!!3 states of matter ...
B here -- unaware -- no effectB in plasma -- coupled (intimate, subtle)CORONA is in 4th state ("PLASMA")
PLASMA behaves differently from normal gas:
Corona created by B (heat, structure) -- open/closed
(iron filings round bar magnet)
Another ECLIPSE
How Bright is Corona/Full Moon ?
Base corona (C0) = 10-5 x Photosphere
Corona at 1 Ro = 10-8 x Photosphere
Full Moon = 2 x 10-6 x Photosphere = 0.2 Co
Sunspot: Umbra = 0.2 Photosphere
Penumbra = 0.75 Photosphere
Lang: Moon = 0.1 x Sunspot ??
So Moon = 10-5 Sunspot
Normally need eclipse to see -- Glare of surface
Observe direct with X-ray telescope
As T increases (furnace), object becomes bluer
CORONA:
along Magnetic Loops
Conjuring trick --
plasma appearing by magic ?
QuickTime™ and aVideo decompressorare needed to see this picture.
Plasma Motions
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