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Supergranulation
Supergranulation is a particular pattern of convection cells on the Sun's surface called supergranules. It was discovered in the 1950s by A.B.Hausing Doppler effect, Doppler velocity measurements showing horizontal flows on the photosphere (flow speed about 300 to 500 m/s, a tenth of that in the smaller granules). Later work (1960s) by Leighton, Noyes and Simon established a typical size of about 30000 km for supergranules with a lifetime of about 24 hours. Origin Supergranulation has long been interpreted as a specific convection scale, but its origin is not precisely known. Although the presence of granules in the solar photosphere is a well-documented phenomenon, there is still much debate on the true nature or even the existence of higher-order granulation patterns. Some authors suggest the existence of three distinct scales of organization: granulation (with typical diameters of 150–2500 km), mesogranulation (5000–10000 km) and supergranulation (over 20000 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Photosphere
The photosphere is a star's outer shell from which light is radiated. The term itself is derived from Ancient Greek roots, φῶς, φωτός/''phos, photos'' meaning "light" and σφαῖρα/''sphaira'' meaning "sphere", in reference to it being a spherical surface that is perceived to emit light. It extends into a star's surface until the plasma becomes opaque, equivalent to an optical depth of approximately , or equivalently, a depth from which 50% of light will escape without being scattered. A photosphere is the deepest region of a luminous object, usually a star, that is transparent to photons of certain wavelengths. Temperature The surface of a star is defined to have a temperature given by the effective temperature in the Stefan–Boltzmann law. Stars, except neutron stars, have no solid or liquid surface. Therefore, the photosphere is typically used to describe the Sun's or another star's visual surface. Composition of the Sun The Sun is composed primarily of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granule (solar Physics)
A granule is a convection cell in the Sun's photosphere. They are caused by convection currents of plasma in the Sun's convective zone, directly below the photosphere. The grainy appearance of the solar photosphere is produced by the tops of these convective cells and is called ''granulation''. The rising part of the granules is located in the center where the plasma is hotter. The outer edge of the granules is darker due to the cooler descending plasma. (The terms ''darker'' and ''cooler'' are strictly by comparison to the brighter, hotter plasma. According to the Stefan–Boltzmann law, luminosity increases with the fourth power of temperature leading to even a small loss of heat producing a large luminosity contrast.) In addition to the visible appearance, which would be explained by convective motion, Doppler shift measurements of the light from individual granules provides evidence for the convective nature of the granules. A typical granule has a diameter on the orde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convection Cell
In the field of fluid dynamics, a convection cell is the phenomenon that occurs when density differences exist within a body of liquid or gas. These density differences result in rising and/or falling currents, which are the key characteristics of a convection cell. When a volume of fluid is heated, it expands and becomes less dense and thus more buoyant than the surrounding fluid. The colder, denser part of the fluid descends to settle below the warmer, less-dense fluid, and this causes the warmer fluid to rise. Such movement is called convection, and the moving body of liquid is referred to as a ''convection cell''. This particular type of convection, where a horizontal layer of fluid is heated from below, is known as Rayleigh–Bénard convection. Convection usually requires a gravitational field, but in microgravity experiments, thermal convection has been observed without gravitational effects. Fluids are generalized as materials that exhibit the property of flow; however, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doppler Effect
The Doppler effect or Doppler shift (or simply Doppler, when in context) is the change in frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the wave source. It is named after the Austrian physicist Christian Doppler, who described the phenomenon in 1842. A common example of Doppler shift is the change of pitch heard when a vehicle sounding a horn approaches and recedes from an observer. Compared to the emitted frequency, the received frequency is higher during the approach, identical at the instant of passing by, and lower during the recession. The reason for the Doppler effect is that when the source of the waves is moving towards the observer, each successive wave crest is emitted from a position closer to the observer than the crest of the previous wave. Therefore, each wave takes slightly less time to reach the observer than the previous wave. Hence, the time between the arrivals of successive wave crests at the observer is reduced, causing an increa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scale Parameter
In probability theory and statistics, a scale parameter is a special kind of numerical parameter of a parametric family of probability distributions. The larger the scale parameter, the more spread out the distribution. Definition If a family of probability distributions is such that there is a parameter ''s'' (and other parameters ''θ'') for which the cumulative distribution function satisfies :F(x;s,\theta) = F(x/s;1,\theta), \! then ''s'' is called a scale parameter, since its value determines the " scale" or statistical dispersion of the probability distribution. If ''s'' is large, then the distribution will be more spread out; if ''s'' is small then it will be more concentrated. If the probability density exists for all values of the complete parameter set, then the density (as a function of the scale parameter only) satisfies :f_s(x) = f(x/s)/s, \! where ''f'' is the density of a standardized version of the density, i.e. f(x) \equiv f_(x). An estimator of a scale p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean. The Irtysh is a chief tributary of the Ob river and is also the longest tributary river in the world with a length of . The Madeira River is the largest tributary river by volume in the world with an average discharge of . A confluence, where two or more bodies of water meet, usually refers to the joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary, a river or stream that branches off from and flows away from the main stream. PhysicalGeography.net, Michael Pidwirny & S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dopplergram
A dopplergraph or dopplergram is a two-dimensional representation of the approaching and receding motions of an object or area. The word "dopplergraph" is a combination of the words doppler and photograph. Dopplergraphs are two-dimensional records of variations in the doppler shift in light intensity. Dopplergraphs do not need to be a record of the shift of visible light, but of any radiated wave, which includes electromagnetic waves and acoustic waves. Because the doppler shift is caused by the velocity of the radiating source towards or away from the viewer, a dopplergraph is a picture of the velocities associated with the sources being viewed. See also *Spectrogram *Spectroheliograph *Spectrohelioscope *Solar Dynamics Observatory The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is a NASA mission which has been observing the Sun since 2010. Launched on 11 February 2010, the observatory is part of the Living With a Star (LWS) program. The goal of the LWS program is to develop the . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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