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Short- and long-term variations in the solar constant

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6878292
Short- and long-term variations in the solar constant are examined theoretically. The variations observed by the Solar Maximum Mission, lasting several days and associated with the passage of sunspot groups, strikingly demonstrates the well known lack of a bright ring effect around sunspots. This suggests that sunspot magnetic fields do not simply block the heat flowing upward into the photosphere. Rather, it is suggested that gravitational draining occurs and this cools sunspots and transports downward the heat that would otherwise flow into the photosphere. A model of sunspot temperature with depth shows modest support when compared with the empirical model of Van't Veer. Secular trends in the solar constant may occur and be associated with the influence of the convection zone magnetic field upon convective heat transport. As a start to understanding this problem, the Schwarzschild criterion has been modified to include the effects of magnetic field.
Research Organization:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, MD (USA). Goddard Space Flight Center
OSTI ID:
6878292
Report Number(s):
N-82-17034
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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