NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has found evidence of Kelvin-Helmholtz waves in the sun’s corona. These waves, which occur between two fluids of different densities or moving at different speeds, are similar to the iconic waves surfers ride. Researchers suspect that this turbulent motion may help explain why the corona is 1,000 times hotter than the surface of the sun. #
Tag: solar dynamics
Solar Fluid Dynamics
The sun is a wild place fluid dynamically. The surface is riddled with convection cells the size of the Earth, and prominences of plasma (ionized gas) erupt from the surface following the sun’s magnetic field lines. Violent, but beautiful. #
Solar Prominence
[original media no longer available]
In this stunning video of a solar flare and prominence captured by NASA’s SDO mission, plasma erupts from the surface of the sun preceded by a massive shockwave (near center of frame, heading downward). The motion of the plasma is dictated not only by classical fluid mechanics but by the influence of the sun’s magnetic field in what is known as magnetohydrodynamics. (submitted by Caleb)
Calcium Plasma on the Sun
This high-resolution photo of our sun shows the structure of calcium plasma on the surface of the sun. Plasmas are governed by the same physics as our familiar earthbound fluids but are also extremely sensitive to magnetic fields. Their branch of fluid dynamics is often referred to as magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), where the Navier-Stokes equations have to be solved in conjunction with Maxwell’s equations. (via Bad Astronomy)
Magnetohydrodynamics
Fluid dynamics play an important role in understanding phenomena like sunspots and solar prominences. The subfield of fluid dynamics concerned with the motion of electrically conducting fluids, like the plasma that makes up the sun’s corona, is magnetohydrodynamics.
