History of Solar Oblateness
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| Nugget | |
|---|---|
| Number: | 126 |
| 1st Author: | Hugh Hudson |
| 2nd Author: | Jean-Pierre Rozelot |
| Published: | 2010 April 26 |
| Next Nugget: | TBD |
| Previous Nugget: | The Masuda Flare Revisited |
Introduction
Exact measurements of the shape of the Sun have a history extending well back into the 19th century ([1]), and RHESSI is playing a role in this history (see two earlier nuggets (a, b) thanks to the small optical telescopes used for solar aspect sensing. These observations are serendipitous, as are those of SOHO/MDI and soon those of SDO/HMI. But there is also to be a dedicated space observatory actually designed for solar global observations, Picard, and we expect that it will make the definitive measurements over the next few years following its anticipated launch in June 2010.