Glossary of highlighted terms: Back To Manual

Helioseismology - The branch of solar physics that studies how waves bounce around on the Sun. The behavior of these waves allows scientists to learn about the sun's interior.

Sunspot - Occurs in the photosphere of the sun. It is a dark marking that has manifested as a result of solar magnetic activity.

Solar Flare - A region of exceptionally high temperature and brightness that suddenly develops in the solar chromosphere near a sunspot; it is often associated with complex magnetic fields.

Differential Rotation - The sun does not rotate as a solid body; areas located in the equatorial regions complete a revolution in ~ 25 days, while in polar regions a revolution requires some 30 days.

Convective Zone - The outer-most of the three zones of the solar interior. In the convective zone, photons are carried by convection to the photosphere and released. Convection is the rising of hot material and the sinking of cooler material, similar to the process of water boiling.

Active Longitude - The approximate center of a range of heliographic longitudes in which active regions are more numerous and more magnetically active than the average.

Magnetogram - Solar magnetograms are a graphic representation of solar magnetic field strengths and polarity.

Heliographic Latitude - Similar to latitude on Earth where values range from +90 degress to -90 degrees.

Heliographic Longitude - A non-rotating longitudinal scale where 0 degrees runs through the center of the solar disk. Values run from -90 degrees for the far left of the image, to +90 degrees for the far right of the image.

Sidereal Rotation - The rotation rate of the sun with respect to the background stars.

Synodic Rotation - The rotation rate of the sun as seen from the Earth, a non-fixed reference frame.

Carrington Coordinates - A system of fixed longitudes rotating with the sun. Exactly like our latitude and longitude scale for the Earth.

Radiative Zone -

Zeeman Effect -

Coronal Holes - An extended region of the corona, exceptionally low in density and associated with unipolar photospheric regions.

Babcock Model -

Joy's Law -