From NASA’s SOHO observatory’s online image gallery:
Solar rotation and polar flows of the Sun as deduced from measurements by MDI. The cutaway reveals rotation speed inside the Sun. The left side of the image represents the difference in rotation speed between various areas on the Sun. Red-yellow is faster than average and blue is slower than average. The light orange bands are zones that are moving slightly faster than their surroundings. The new SOHO observations indicate that these extend down approximately 20,000 km into the Sun. Sunspots, caused by disturbances in the solar magnetic field, tend to form at the edge of these bands.
Hours of fun for all the family – years even, if like me you’ve been following SOHO since it went live. I can especially recommend the helioseismology section. The Sun; not just a ball of boring old plasma.
And yes, I am still in bloody hospital. But more about that, as they say, later.
