A velocity map of the sun surface acoustic waves: red regions
represent inward motions while blue regions
show outward motions
Mount Wilson Observatory
Diagnostics for the Solar Interior
The Sun releases energy. The processes that make this energy take place in the center of the Sun. We can't see past the surface of the Sun. But scientists use indirect ways (diagnostics) to figure out just how the energy is produced.
One way scientists research the inside of the Sun is to
study
helioseismology. Helioseismology is just a big word that means
the study of the vibrations of the Sun and the waves these vibrations make. (If you were that hot, you'd shake a little too!)
Another important diagnostic is
neutrino detection.
Neutrinos are produced in
the nuclear reactions that take place in
the core of the Sun.
If scientists look at neutrinos and the waves made by the Sun vibrating, they can piece together how the Sun makes its energy. They can also start to figure out what will happen to the Sun during its
life cycle.
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