SOLAR ACTIVITY
type: Concept

SOLAR OSCILLATIONS
type: Concept
definition: The surface of the sun oscillates in certain modes defined by the number¿of latitudinal and longitudinal modal planes. The sun vibrates in¿multiple modes simultaneously, each mode typically having a different¿amplitude. Observing the amplitudes of the various solar oscillation¿modes is a way to look inside the sun. A commonly observed phenomena is the¿"5-minute" oscillation, but other periods have been observed from 10 to 160¿minutes on the long period scale to about 10 seconds on the short period¿scale. Also observed are so-called "g-mode" oscillations (internal gravity¿waves) generated by turbulent convection below the photosphere.¿These oscillations are the result of internal motions of the sun and their study is known as helioseismology.
in scheme: sciencekeywords