Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
listening to the Sun for nearly 40 years.
In this video, I examine a newly published study based on data from the Birmingham Solar-Oscillations Network (BiSON), a global network of six solar observatories that has been monitoring the Sun continuously since 1976. Using helioseismology β the study of sound waves traveling through the Sun β researchers found that the solar cycle's seismic signature appears to be becoming increasingly confined to a shallow layer near the Sun's surface.
What does this mean?
For decades, scientists assumed that the activity associated with the solar cycle would leave a deeper structural imprint inside the Sun. Instead, the latest observations suggest that the measurable signature is becoming more concentrated near the surface. The Sun's interior magnetic engine may still operate deep within the star, but the fingerprint we can detect appears to be changing.
In this video we explore:
π Live solar observations and active regions
βοΈ AR 4455 and current solar activity
π Helioseismology and how BiSON "listens" to the Sun
π Solar Cycles 22 through 25
𧲠The Sun's magnetic cycle and polarity reversals
π Why this may matter for future space-weather forecasting
π What scientists expected vs. what they actually measured
This is one of the most intriguing solar studies published in recent years and may help us better understand how our star works beneath the visible surface.
β β β
π‘ SUBSCRIBE for more: youtube.com/@RaysAstrophotography?sub_confirmation=1
β β β
π THE STUDY
Chaplin et al. (2026), "Sub-surface structural changes associated with successive 11-yr solar activity cycles have been progressively more confined near the surface: new helioseismic results on Cycles 22β25 from BiSON," Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stag847
Free full text (arXiv): arxiv.org/abs/2605.29528
Journal (MNRAS): academic.oup.com/mnras/article/549/2/stag847/8694735
Royal Astronomical Society summary: ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights/listening-suns-heart-hints-our-star-could-be-changing
University of Birmingham: birmingham.ac.uk/news/2026/listening-to-the-sun-reveals-previously-hidden-changes-to-solar-cycle
π BACKGROUND & DATA SOURCES
Birmingham Solar-Oscillations Network (BiSON) β University of Birmingham
NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) β live solar imagery
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center β solar activity & flare data
ESA/NASA SOHO (LASCO) β coronagraph imagery
β β β
Space Photographer Β· Earth and Space Citizen Scientist Β· Independent Science Communicator β and your Cosmic Ray π
#Helioseismology #SolarCycle25 #BiSON #SpaceWeather #SolarPhysics #Sun #Sunspots #SolarMaximum #Astronomy #CosmicRay #RaysAstrophotography #SolarActivity #AR4455
listening to the Sun for nearly 40 years.
In this video, I examine a newly published study based on data from the Birmingham Solar-Oscillations Network (BiSON), a global network of six solar observatories that has been monitoring the Sun continuously since 1976. Using helioseismology β the study of sound waves traveling through the Sun β researchers found that the solar cycle's seismic signature appears to be becoming increasingly confined to a shallow layer near the Sun's surface.
What does this mean?
For decades, scientists assumed that the activity associated with the solar cycle would leave a deeper structural imprint inside the Sun. Instead, the latest observations suggest that the measurable signature is becoming more concentrated near the surface. The Sun's interior magnetic engine may still operate deep within the star, but the fingerprint we can detect appears to be changing.
In this video we explore:
π Live solar observations and active regions
βοΈ AR 4455 and current solar activity
π Helioseismology and how BiSON "listens" to the Sun
π Solar Cycles 22 through 25
𧲠The Sun's magnetic cycle and polarity reversals
π Why this may matter for future space-weather forecasting
π What scientists expected vs. what they actually measured
This is one of the most intriguing solar studies published in recent years and may help us better understand how our star works beneath the visible surface.
β β β
π‘ SUBSCRIBE for more: youtube.com/@RaysAstrophotography?sub_confirmation=1
β β β
π THE STUDY
Chaplin et al. (2026), "Sub-surface structural changes associated with successive 11-yr solar activity cycles have been progressively more confined near the surface: new helioseismic results on Cycles 22β25 from BiSON," Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stag847
Free full text (arXiv): arxiv.org/abs/2605.29528
Journal (MNRAS): academic.oup.com/mnras/article/549/2/stag847/8694735
Royal Astronomical Society summary: ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights/listening-suns-heart-hints-our-star-could-be-changing
University of Birmingham: birmingham.ac.uk/news/2026/listening-to-the-sun-reveals-previously-hidden-changes-to-solar-cycle
π BACKGROUND & DATA SOURCES
Birmingham Solar-Oscillations Network (BiSON) β University of Birmingham
NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) β live solar imagery
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center β solar activity & flare data
ESA/NASA SOHO (LASCO) β coronagraph imagery
β β β
Space Photographer Β· Earth and Space Citizen Scientist Β· Independent Science Communicator β and your Cosmic Ray π
#Helioseismology #SolarCycle25 #BiSON #SpaceWeather #SolarPhysics #Sun #Sunspots #SolarMaximum #Astronomy #CosmicRay #RaysAstrophotography #SolarActivity #AR4455
