On the Constancy of the Solar Radius. III.

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

8

Astrometry, Sun: Activity, Sun: Fundamental Parameters, Sun: Photosphere

Scientific paper

The Michelson Doppler Imager on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory satellite has operated for over a sunspot cycle. This instrument is now relatively well understood and provides a nearly continuous record of the solar radius in combination with previously developed algorithms. Because these data are obtained from above Earth's atmosphere, they are uniquely sensitive to possible long-term changes of the Sun's size. We report here on the first homogeneous, highly precise, and complete solar-cycle measurement of the Sun's radius variability. Our results show that any intrinsic changes in the solar radius that are synchronous with the sunspot cycle must be smaller than 23 mas peak to peak. In addition, we find that the average solar radius must not be changing (on average) by more than 1.2 mas yr-1. If ground- and space-based measurements are both correct, the pervasive difference between the constancy of the solar radius seen from space and the apparent ground-based solar astrometric variability can only be accounted for by long-term changes in the terrestrial atmosphere.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

On the Constancy of the Solar Radius. III. does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with On the Constancy of the Solar Radius. III., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and On the Constancy of the Solar Radius. III. will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1348607

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.