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NJ Researchers Locate Sun's Magnetic Dynamo 124,000 Miles Deep

3/27/2026

Summary

Story summary

Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology confirm the sun's magnetic dynamo lies about 124,000 miles beneath the surface at the tachocline.
They used data from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) to observe photospheric oscillations caused by plasma flows.
The findings reveal a butterfly pattern in sunspot activity and support including the tachocline in solar models.

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Story summary

Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology confirm the sun's magnetic dynamo lies about 124,000 miles beneath the surface at the tachocline.
They used data from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) to observe photospheric oscillations caused by plasma flows.
The findings reveal a butterfly pattern in sunspot activity and support including the tachocline in solar models.