Sun Is Not A Perfect Sphere, NASA Spacecraft Finds

Sunday, October 5, 2008 - 19:28 in Astronomy & Space

Scientists using NASA's RHESSI spacecraft have measured the roundness of the sun with unprecedented precision. They find that it is not a perfect sphere. During years of high solar activity the sun develops a thin "cantaloupe skin" that significantly increases its apparent oblateness: the sun's equatorial radius becomes slightly larger than its polar radius.

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