Research report 2008 - Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
A close look at solar granulation
Authors
Kupka, Friedrich; Zaussinger, Florian
Departments
Stellare Astrophysik (Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hillebrandt)
MPI für Astrophysik, Garching
Summary
How would the surface of our Sun look like, if we had telescopes which have a resolution ten times that one of present instruments? Would the Sun look any different further inside? In an international collaboration scientists at the University of Vienna, and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics have used numerical simulations on high performance computers to answer these questions. They found a highly turbulent flow showing ever more details hidden underneath the smooth looking surface which we know from images of our Sun in visual light.