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SOHO Produces Images of Sunspot Interiors
Judebert writes: "The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO, the one that looks at the Sun) has used a Doppler-like device to look underneath the surface of a sunspot. It turns out to be much shallower than expected, but the data does help explain why sunspots last so much longer than theory dictates. NASA's story is more informative, but the pictures and movies at Stanford are spectacular. I've got a new background!"
From the site:
"Why do we care? Understanding sunspots is essential for understanding the 11-year solar cycle, solar flare explosions, and huge coronal mass ejections that affect life and society on Earth."
Solar flares can screw up satellites and such, but as people begin to move into space more(missions to mars in the next 50 years, moon in possibly less, aren't beyond the realm of consideration anymore) this will become even more important. Getting caught by a flare without any of the protection Earth's magentosphere offers is a quick way to get fried. Any interplanet ship would obviously have to have some kind of shielding(probably between water/fuel tanks), but being able to more accurately understand and predict flares, especially for cheaper/shorter moon trips, will be vital.
Sol is a relatively young sun, no? Could it be that our sun is merely experiencing acne?
yadda