Souldful
06-28-2010, 03:43 AM
The sun has been the inspiration for hundreds of songs, but now scientists have discovered that the star at the centre of our solar system produces its own music.
Astronomers at the University of Sheffield have managed to record for the first time the eerie musical harmonies produced by the magnetic field in the outer atmosphere of the sun.
They found that huge magnetic loops that have been observed coiling away from the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere, known as coronal loops, vibrate like strings on a musical instrument.
Astronomers at the University of Sheffield have managed to record for the first time the eerie musical harmonies produced by the magnetic field in the outer atmosphere of the sun.
They found that huge magnetic loops that have been observed coiling away from the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere, known as coronal loops, vibrate like strings on a musical instrument.
Scientists cannot directly record the sound produced in the Sun's atmosphere because sound cannot travel through the near vacuum of space.
They are, however, able to use visual observations of the frequency at which the coronal loops vibrate to recreate the sound back here on Earth.
Professor Fáy-Siebenbürgen's research has been revealed as the University of Sheffield launches a new project, called Project Sunshine, aimed at finding new ways to harness and understand the power of the sun.
He said: "These loops are oscillating like the strings on a guitar or the air in a wind instrument. Over time the waves die away and that is telling us new things about the physics in the sun's atmosphere."
Music of the sun recorded by scientists - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7840201/Music-of-the-sun-recorded-by-scientists.html)
Astronomers at the University of Sheffield have managed to record for the first time the eerie musical harmonies produced by the magnetic field in the outer atmosphere of the sun.
They found that huge magnetic loops that have been observed coiling away from the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere, known as coronal loops, vibrate like strings on a musical instrument.
Astronomers at the University of Sheffield have managed to record for the first time the eerie musical harmonies produced by the magnetic field in the outer atmosphere of the sun.
They found that huge magnetic loops that have been observed coiling away from the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere, known as coronal loops, vibrate like strings on a musical instrument.
Scientists cannot directly record the sound produced in the Sun's atmosphere because sound cannot travel through the near vacuum of space.
They are, however, able to use visual observations of the frequency at which the coronal loops vibrate to recreate the sound back here on Earth.
Professor Fáy-Siebenbürgen's research has been revealed as the University of Sheffield launches a new project, called Project Sunshine, aimed at finding new ways to harness and understand the power of the sun.
He said: "These loops are oscillating like the strings on a guitar or the air in a wind instrument. Over time the waves die away and that is telling us new things about the physics in the sun's atmosphere."
Music of the sun recorded by scientists - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7840201/Music-of-the-sun-recorded-by-scientists.html)