The branch of astrophysics that investigates the interior structure of the Sun by studying its surface wave oscillations. The surface of the Sun vibrates much like a bell. A piano has 88 keys or musi
cal tones, whereas the Sun has millions of notes. These vibrations are the result of internal pressure waves that reflect off the photosphere and repeatedly cross the solar interior. They are detected through the Doppler shift of absorption lines formed in the photosphere. Because these vibrations make the solar surface move up and down, analysis of the surface patterns is used to study conditions far below the Sun's surface. The mean period of the vibrations is about five minutes, which corresponds to a frequency of about 3 mHz.
The region located between the termination shock and the heliopause where the turbulent and hot solar wind is compressed as it passes outward against the interstellar wind.
The region located between the termination shock and the heliopause where the turbulent and hot solar wind is compressed as it passes outward against the interstellar wind.
The region of space dominated by the Sun’s extended, outflowing atmosphere. Based on views of other stellar spheres, the heliosphere probably has a tear-drop shape due to its interaction with the inte
rstellar wind.
The heliosphere is our entire solar system, as defined by the bubble created by the outflow of particles from the sun called the solar wind, which streams far past the outermost planets, six to nine b
illion miles away from the sun. Solar particles speed outward from the sun, pushing back the material in the rest of space, known as the interstellar medium. The boundary between the two defines the edges of the heliosphere.
The solar atmosphere extending roughly fromthe outer corona to the edge of the solar plasma at the heliopauseseparating primarily solar plasma from interstellar plasma.