Interior Solar Cutaway and Mode Diagram This sketch illustrates how sound waves propagate through the Sun's interior. Only waves with specific combinations of period and horizontal wavelength resonated within the Sun. The precise combinations are related to the Sun's interior structure; they produce the bright, fine-tuned "ridges" of greater power shown in the l-nu (period versus wavelength) diagram at the right. Measurements of the Sun's oscillations provide a window into the invisible interior of the Sun allowing scientists to infer the structure and composition as well as the rotation and dynamics of the solar interior.

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