An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The Sun’s magnetic field which is probably created by the → differential rotation of the Sun together with the movement of charged particles in the → convective zone. Understanding how the solar magnetic field comes about is the fundamental problem of Solar Physics. The solar magnetic field is responsible for all solar magnetic phenomena, such as → sunspots, → solar flares, → coronal mass ejections, and the → solar wind. The solar magnetic fields are observed from the → Zeeman broadening of spectral lines, → polarization effects on radio emission, and from the channeling of charged particles into visible → coronal streamers. The strength of Sun’s average magnetic field is 1 → gauss (twice the average field on the surface of Earth, around 0.5 gauss), and can be as strong as 4,000 Gauss in the neighborhood of a large sunspot.

See also: → solar; → magnetic; → field.