Scientists for the first time were able to measure the depth of sunspot

[ScienceNology] - Astronomers from the University of Glasgow for the first time measured the depth of sunspots. This was reported in the press release on the university site, and the work of researchers has never been published.

Back in 1769 a professor at the University of Glasgow, Alexander Wilson (Alexander Wilson) discovered that sun-spots seem to be concave. This observation was made in the study of spots on the boundary of the solar disk. However, until recently, remained unclear - whether this is just a feature of the observations or stains really has depth.

In the new study, scientists examined the data collected by the mission SOHO. This device was launched in 1995 specifically for observing the Sun and he was able to obtain a large number of photographs lights during the peak of his activity (at present, light is gradually emerging from an abnormally long period of calm).

First, using the observational data more than 25 thousand spots, the researchers built a computer model of these entities. Then, using the obtained models, the astronomers found that the central regions of spots are located about 1500 kilometers below the top. According to researchers, the new findings useful for the creation of improved models of processes occurring on the Sun.

Source : Science and Technology Russia , 21 August 2009

Photo credit to Wikipedia , Sunspots imaged on 2004-06-22

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