HR: 1330h
AN: SH42B-0546    [PDF]
TI: The Origin of Sunspots - A New Hypothesis
AU: * Ackerman, J
EM: angiras@firmament-chaos.com
AF: Aries Associates, P.O. Box 1714, Doylestown, PA 18901 United States
AB: Recent observations of sunspots, the high temperature of the corona and CMEs strongly suggest that they are all caused by highly energetic solid bodies falling into the Sun. This hypothesis is consistent with the rapid (3000 mph) downward flow of gases in sunspot interiors observed by SOHO, their lower temperatures, and the presence of large quantities of water in their spectra. The high velocity of the incoming body entrains the surface gases, carrying them rapidly downward. The vaporization of the bodies cools the local gases and the water released from the bodies produces the observed spectra. Solar flares and CMEs comprise the material splashed from the impact perimeter. The paired sunspots and the multiple secondary spots are the result of the partial breaking up of the incoming body in the solar atmosphere before it reaches the surface. The persistence of the sunspots is due to a quasi-stable toroidal circulation induced in the surface layer, similar to a smoke-ring or an inverse Hadley cell. An impact was recently captured in a sequence of ultraviolet images by the TRACE spacecraft. In the clip, the initial dark scene is suddenly illuminated by the splash or flare due to the primary impactor, which is not seen because it is dark. The resulting illumination makes it possible to observe the associated secondary bodies, which leave dark trails of gases as they vaporize and cool their surroundings. These were described as 'tadpoles' because they each leave undulating dark tails in contrast to the bright background. Their downward motion has created great difficulty for the current hypothesis, that sunspots are generated from within the sun, implying that all material should be moving outward. The estimated velocity of the 'tadpoles,' 400 miles/sec implies that they fell from the vicinity of Jupiter's orbit. Interestingly, the average sunspot cycle is close to the period of Jupiter, not the period of a body falling from Jupiter in a Sun grazing orbit. I suggest that the modulation of sunspot activity, illustrated by the well-known butterfly diagram, is due to millions of bodies which have been ejected from Jupiter's Great Red Spot (-20 latitude) in recent millennia. The differences in their orbits and the consequent modulation of the resulting impacts on the Sun are likely due to variations in the ecliptic and eccentricity, both of which follow Jupiter's period. The difference between Jupiter's period (11.8 earth years) and the average sunspot cycle (11.3) years, and the systematic variation of sunspot latitude during a cycle, may be due to relativistic effects on their sun grazing orbits (advance of perihelion) combined with the barycentric motion of the Sun caused primarily by Jupiter. The influx of numerous high velocity solid bodies is also consistent with the localized, non-thermal heating of the corona to millions of degrees. Yohkoh images show only the hottest part of the corona and SOHO's ultraviolet spectra of these regions have provided clear evidence for their non-thermal nature. These show the continually changing locations of heat deposition due to incoming bodies. The implication of the 'Maunder Minimum' and recent studies of the sunspot cylce on climate is that powerful bursts of energetic charged particles from the Sun are a significant factor in maintaining the temperature of the Earth at its current level. This accentuates the importance of understanding their origin, particularly when their future decline remains a possibility.
DE: 1650 Solar variability
DE: 2162 Solar cycle variations (7536)
DE: 7504 Celestial mechanics
DE: 7513 Coronal mass ejections
DE: 7531 Prominence eruptions
SC: SPA - Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting