What direct observational evidence leads us to believe that the activity at the surface of the Sun?

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laura asked:




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2 Responses to “What direct observational evidence leads us to believe that the activity at the surface of the Sun?”

  1. blobrana says:

    We can directly measure the electromagnetic field and spectrum
    using Magnaprobe magnetic field detectors and spectroscopes, and work out the kinetic energy of the gas molecules on the surface.

  2. Greg B says:

    The direct observational data is the observed splitting of spectral lines from solar surface (photosphere) phenomena (sunspots). The splitting of the spectral lines is due to the Zeeman effect where the lines are split due to the interaction of a local magnetic field with the electron orbital moment.

    The Zeeman effect only gives the magnitude of the magnetic field. To determine the field direction, a vector magnetograph is used. A vector magnetograph is a special imaging telescope which is restricted to a narrow band centered about a single spectral line. It uses polarization factors to determine the longitudinal and transverse magnetic field components.
    We also have the direct observational data of chromospheric effects such as filaments and plage, prominences, and the chromospheric network – all of which are best explained as interaction of the surrounding plasma with magnetic field lines.

    And lastly the temperatures observed, combined with the density of the plasma, do not permit nuclear fusion at the photosphere and outer layers of the Sun.

    To the best of my knowledge, no one has yet put a ‘magnaprobe’ in the vicinity of the Sun’s photosphere.