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A solar observatory is an observatory that specializes in monitoring the Sun. As such, they usually have one or more solar telescopes.
The Einstein Tower was a solar observatory in the Albert Einstein Science Park in Potsdam, Germany.
Solar observatories study phenomena associated with the Sun. The Sun, being the closest star to earth, allows a unique chance to study stellar physics with high-resolution. It was, until the 1990s,[1] the only star whose surface had been resolved. General topics that interest a solar astronomer are its 11-year periodicity (i.e., the Solar Cycle), sunspots, magnetic field activity (see solar dynamo), solar flares, coronal mass ejections, differential rotation, and plasma physics.
Some examples edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Burns, D.; Baldwin, J. E.; Boysen, R. C.; Haniff, C. A.; et al. (September 1997). "The surface structure and limb-darkening profile of Betelgeuse". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 290 (1): L11–L16. Bibcode:1997MNRAS.290L..11B. doi:10.1093/mnras/290.1.l11.
External links edit
- Lawrence, Pete. "Solar Observing (Part I)". Deep Sky Videos. Brady Haran.
Media related to Solar observatories at Wikimedia Commons