Well-Rounded: Sun Stays Nearly Spherical, Even When It Freaks Out
[div class="excerpt" style="border: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom: none; border-radius: 0.3846em 0.3846em 0em 0em; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]Well-Rounded: Sun Stays Nearly Spherical, Even When It Freaks Out[div class="excerpt" style="border: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top: none; border-radius: 0em 0em 0.3846em 0.3846em; background-color: #f4f4f4; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]The 11-year solar cycle swoops between peaks of intense magnetic activity—apparent as sunspots, coronal loops and flares—and relative quiescence, when the sun's face is free of blemishes. New research shows that despite this tumult, the sun remains remarkably constant in its globular shape—findings that have left researchers scratching their heads.
Earth's closest star is one of the roundest objects humans have measured. If you shrank the sun down to beach ball size, the difference between its north-south and the east-west diameters would be thinner than the width of a human hair, says Jeffery Kuhn, a physicist and solar researcher at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. "Not only is it very round, but it's too round," he adds. The sun is more spherical and more invariable than theories predict.
Not the world's longest article so I only excerpted two paragraphs. Short, but I though it was interesting.
I fear the shit out of the Sun. I don't trust the Sun. The fucker is one giant continuous pile of nuclear explosions. That always struck me as being flakier than a volunteer at a hemp festival. News such as the article provides is somewhat comforting for my condition.
PB
= new reply since forum marked as read
That's all we've got left. So make use of every day. Myself? I am going to start drinking very heavily until that day.
It's ready for the corvette at 5.5 billion Old or so. We got another 5, give or take a billion to go. 
The sun is getting hotter every day. It's that fusion thing. Helium content builds up in the core, day-by-day. This changes the dynamics. Long before the Sun transits to the red giant stage it will be hot enough to evaporate all water on Earth. Current projections based on the latest science make that about a billion years, give or take.
So, man, we'd better take cover soon.
Anyway, relax and pour yourself a nice glass of wine. Long before then, we'll most likely get clobbered by a big asteroid or comet. The last one wiped out 75-80% of all lifeforms. Just ask the dinosaurs. But there's still the B612 Foundation to save our asses. The difference between the dinosaurs and us? We have a space program and they didn't.
Have a nice day, everybody.
