Tones of the Oscillating Sun Sound waves resonate deep within the Sun, producing surface oscillations with periods near five minutes. 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 fine-tuned "ridges" of greater power shown in this l-nu (period versus wavelength) diagram obtained from 2 months of the SOHO/MDI Medium-l program during May/June 1996. These measurements provide a new window into the invisible interior of the Sun allowing scientists to infer the structure, composition and dynamics inside the Sun.

Downloads

• Full-size image [JPG, 215K]
• Medium-size image [JPG, 20K]
• Hi-resolution size image [TIF, 476K]