Differential Rotation

Differential rotation is seen if parts of a rotating object move with different angular velocity. (to put it short and non-scientific, parts at different distances from the rotation axis make a different number of rounds at a given time interval).

Differential rotation provides an easy way to produce a spiral pattern in the disk.

Differential rotation: For anything but solid-body rotation, the angular velocity O(R) is a function of R, so the detailed configuration of objects in some region is "stretched" with time by differential rotation.

differential rotation The tendency for a gaseous sphere, such as a jovian planet or the Sun, to rotate at a different rate at the equator than at the poles.

differential rotation A rotational property of gaseous objects, where the equatorial regions rotate at a faster rate than the polar regions.

differential rotation: The rotation of a body in which different parts of the body have different periods of rotation; this is true of the sun, the Jovian planets, and the disk of the galaxy.

Differential rotation. The rotation of a body such as a gaseous planet or the Sun so that different parts are rotating at different speeds. For example, a star or planet which rotates faster at its equator than it does at its poles.

Differential Rotation - Rotation in which the rotation period of a body varies with latitude. Differential rotation occurs for gaseous bodies like the Sun or for planets with thick atmospheres ...

Differential Rotation (a) Of a stellar cluster or galaxy, the "orbiting" of stars nearer the center faster than those at the edge.

differential rotation (SOHO Glossary - GSFC) The change in solar rotation rate with latitude. Low latitudes rotate at a faster angular rate (approx. 14 degrees per day) than do high latitudes (approx. 12 degrees per day).

The difference in period is caused by differential rotation. (S. L. Rucinski et al., Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, vol. 116, p. 1093, 2004.) ...

Because Jupiter is not a solid body, its upper atmosphere undergoes differential rotation.

Differential rotation is very good at producing spirals although the amount of winding tends to be very high so the spiral would be tightly wound after a few orbits.

Differential rotation of the sun's convection zone (as a function of latitude) consolidates magnetic flux tubes, increases their magnetic field strength and makes them buoyant (see Babcock Model).

This differential rotation is easily visible as sunspots rotate across the solar surface, and it has been known since the first telescopic studies. At the equator the sunspots rotate at a 25-day rate, and at high latitudes at a 28- or 29-day rate.

Jupiter's upper atmosphere undergoes differential rotation, an effect first noticed by Giovanni Cassini (1690). The rotation of Jupiter's polar atmosphere is ~5 minutes longer than that of the equatorial atmosphere.

The Sun rotates faster at the equator than it does at the poles This is known as differential rotation.

The outer layers of the Sun exhibit differential rotation: at the equator the surface rotates once every 25.4 days; near the poles it's as much as 36 days. This odd behavior is due to the fact that the Sun is not a solid body like the Earth.

Because the rotation period of the Sun is faster at the equator than towards the poles, a 'differential rotation' is created.

Magnetic fields within the Sun are stretched out and wound around the Sun by differential rotation - the change in rotation rate as a function of latitude and radius within the Sun.

The combination of what takes place in the convection zone and the differential rotation of the Sun creates something called the solar dynamo. This phenomenon is the true origin of solar activity.

In the case of Jupiter, because of its differential rotation, two different rotation states are used to keep track of the cloud markings: 9h50m30s for the equator (System I) and 9h55m41s for the high latitudes (System II).

rapid rise, then constant (at ~200 km/s) differential rotation (inner stars overtake) dark matter extends beyond stars (unknown) Stellar Populations : ...

Although the details of sunspot generation are still somewhat a matter of research, it is quite clear that sunspots are the visible counterparts of magnetic flux tubes in the convective zone of the sun that get "wound up" by differential rotation.

If the material originally making up a spiral arm of a spiral galaxy remains in the arm, then the differential rotation of the galaxy should wind up the arm in a time which is short compared to the age of the galaxy.

The star has "a combination of differential rotation and concentration of starspot activity at different stellar latitudes from year to year" (Guidos et al, 2000, in pdf).

(The gas giants Jupiter and Saturn also have differential rotation.) The movements of the sunspots indicate that the Sun rotates once every 27 days at the equator, but only once in 31 days at the poles.

The Earth's atmosphere protects us from the harmful effects of the ultraviolet rays and the X-rays. The Sun does rotate, but because it is a large gaseous sphere, not all parts rotate at the same speed. This is known as a differential rotation.

See also: Rotation, Sun, Solar, Light, Time