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Last Post 10/23/2013 4:08 PM by  KD Leka
Does the sun make noise?
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10/23/2013 1:42 PM
    Is the sun quiet or does it make sounds? Kaby
    Tags: sounds

    KD Leka



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    10/23/2013 4:08 PM

    Hi Kaby;

    The Sun does make sound, but the sounds are generally not in any range we could hear. The sun oscillates -- really, it rings like a bell, with vibrations all over. The vibrations are generally caused by the plasma moving and hitting other bits of plasma, whether down deep below or near the surface. Think of the gentle, soft "roar" of a pot of boiling water, and how it can actually make the side of a pan vibrate just a bit. Parts of the corona are even believed to oscillate. A nice presentation is at http://solar-center.stanf...inging/singing.html. There is no way we could actually 'hear' the Sun because sound waves won't travel between it and the Earth.

    But the Sun also emits radio waves - again, forms of light rather than sound, but they can be made into sounds that we can appreciate. As I posted on the "Announcements", the Sun has put forth a few medium-sized flares recently, one of which caused a radio burst that one astronomer made into an audio file. See 23 October2013 spaceweather.com (if it updates, search for this date on the site's archives). It's pretty wild!

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