Animation showing the differential rotation of a star. As stars are not solid bodies, instead being made of plasma, they are not constrained in rotation rate in the same way as a planet like Earth. The Sun rotates in around 24.5 days at its equator, but takes nearly 38 days at its poles. This faster movement at lower latitudes is shown by the shearing of the lines here. The differential rotation was first observed by Christoph Scheiner, who published his observations on tracking sunspots in 1630. Differential rotation only occurs in the outer convective layers of a star. The inner radiative zone rotates as a solid body. It is thought that the differential rotation helps to produce stars' magnetic fields | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit : | Science Photo Library / Garlick, Mark |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Durée : | 8 Secondes |
Aspect ratio : | 16/9 |
Restrictions : | - |