Talk:Photosphere

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[edit] Ambiguity

The first paragraph is ambigous as to whether the photosphere is the region into which exterior light comes, the region in which exterior light stops, or the region to which no exterior light comes. If anyone could shed some light (no pun intended) on that issue, that would be great. 85.224.198.251 15:49, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Previous unsigned talk

(Heading added by 85.224.198.251 15:49, 25 April 2007 (UTC) simultaneously with Ambiguity heading)

The sun's photosphere is often mistakenly referred to as the surface of the sun.

In reality however, the sun's photosphere is only a "liquid-like" plasma layer made of neon that covers the actual surface of the sun. That visible layer we see with our eyes is more commonly known as penumbral filaments. This visible neon plasma layer, as well as a thicker, deeper plasma layer of silicon, entirely covers the actual rocky, calcium ferrite surface layer of the sun. The visible photosphere covers the transitional region that is the actual surface of the sun, much as the earth's oceans cover most of the surface of the earth. In this case the sun's photosphere is very bright and we cannot see the darker surface features below without the aid of satellite technology.

The composition and mechanical inner workings of the sun beneath the visible photosphere have remained an enigma for thousands of years. There are a whole host of unexplained phenomena related to the sun's activities that still baffle gas model theorists to this day because they fail to recognize the existence of an iron alloy transitional layer that rests beneath the visible photosphere. Fortunately a host of new satellites and the field of heliosiesmology are starting to shed new light on this mysterious transitional layer of the sun that is located about 4800km beneath the visible photosphere. In addition, recent studies of solar wind suggest that solar wind also originates on the same transition layer under the photosphere as do the electrically charged coronal loops. NASA's SOHO satellite and the Trace satellite program have both imaged this transition layer of the sun that sits beneath the photosphere. These 21st century satellites and technologies now enable us to peer behind the outer plasma layers of the chromosphere and photosphere and allow us to study the rocky, calcium ferrite transitional layer with incredible precision.

The reason for the current confusion in gas model circles is simple. The SOHO, TRACE and YOHKOH satellites demonstrate that the sun is not simply a giant ball of gas as Galileo believed based on his limited observations through a common telescope. Just as Dr. Birkeland predicted, the sun has a solid, electrically conductive surface composed of iron ferrites beneath the liquid-like plasma layer of the photosphere. It has a solid and electrically conductive surface that is covered by a series of plasma layers, starting with calcium, silicon, neon, helium and finally a layer of hydrogen that ultimately ignites in the corona. This solid surface model of the sun the Birkeland experimented with in his lab can and does explain the behaviors of our own sun quite elegantly and offers us the best hope of deciphering the stone (in this case iron ferrite) tablet that will help us unlock the mysteries of our universe.

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[edit] Citations?

The main page for this article appears to list no formal citations from reliable sources (as of this note). Can someone please add some reliable sources to a section for References or citations? I think References is most commonly used? Thx, Mgmirkin (talk) 02:56, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Incorrect image?

From the article: "The image of the surface shown in the illustration to the right is actually an ultraviolet image of helium plasma at 30.4 nm (from the European Space Agency/NASA SOHO spacecraft), and comes from the chromosphere, which is just above the photosphere, so the "photosphere" label attached to this image is actually incorrect."

If the wrong image is being used, can we please insert a correct image and remove this weird paragraph talking about how someone used the wrong image...? Pretty please? The article will look better without this kind of "oops, we don't know what we're doing, and we're going to tell you we don't know what we're doing" stuff in it. Thx, Mgmirkin (talk) 03:06, 17 January 2008 (UTC)