
The Sun follows the rhythm of the planets - conse_lad
https://www.hzdr.de/db/Cms?pNid=99&pOid=58444
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fxj
More about the Tayler Instability:

[https://www.hzdr.de/db/Cms?pOid=55138&pNid=226&pLang=en](https://www.hzdr.de/db/Cms?pOid=55138&pNid=226&pLang=en)

The Tayler instability is known to limit the scalability of liquid metal
batteries. Whenever an electric current flows through a liquid conductor, the
Tayler instability may appear. If the electric current exceeds a value in the
order of kiloampère (depending on the material), it will drive a fluid flow.

The plasma of the sun behaves like a magnetized highly conducting fluid.
(Magneto-Hydrodynamics)

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jchrisa
So you can use magnetic field information about a star to learn more about the
planets (tidal forces) orbiting it?

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dvtrn
Yup! That and gravitational forces specifically are how we discovered Neptune-
and, IIRC the exact same phenomenon has some scientists theorizing the
existence of another planet or some other large gravitational mass way out in
the Kuiper belt

[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/2...](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/22/meta)

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strainer
Apologies for being pedantic but the link contains no mention of magnetic
field information and Neptune's discovery would not have taken this into
account either.

Im fairly sure this has been done so far by analysing orbits in different
ways, but Ive never heard of perturbations in solar system wide electro-
magnetism (within solar wind) taken into account, or if that could be possible
and effective to model in detail.

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dvtrn
Perhaps I phrased my post poorly there and caused some confusion: I was trying
to relay some supplemental information that just as tidal forces and their
study are revealing new things about Sol, so were studies of tidal forces and
gravitational mechanics instrumental in the discovery of other stellar masses
in our solar system.

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chiefalchemist
And now I wonder what of earth's quirks (?) are driven or influenced by our
position relative to the other planets, as well as our moon.

Furthermore, is a planet's ability to sustain life also a function of other
planets in that solar system? Perhaps, at that level, the earth's system (if
you will) is more unique than we realize?

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andrewflnr
> Perhaps, at that level, the earth's system (if you will) is more unique than
> we realize?

That would surprise me, given how robust Earth life already has to be. I mean,
it wasn't fun, but Earth "sustained life" through several massive volcanic
events, giant meteors, and climatic changes, to say nothing of magnetic pole
reversals, et al. It seems that once life gets going, it can tolerate a lot of
crap.

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chiefalchemist
Or. Life is a by-product or at least a beneficiary of all that crap (i.e.,
what doesn't kill you makes you strong). That is, just because a planet can
sustain life doesn't mean that planet's history would generate life.

There may be a gazillion earth-like planets, but that doesn't mean life is
possible on that attribute alone.

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dvtrn
I was thinking to myself as I began reading "I bet Jupiter has something to do
with this, I just know it"

 _present new findings, indicating that the tidal forces of Venus, Earth and
Jupiter influence the solar magnetic field_

Gravitational and tidal forces are such fascinating things to read about as we
find new ways of measuring the phenomena

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ncmncm
I am most impressed that they are able to model the sun's surface activity
well enough to see a match; and that effects from the interior are tiny enough
that tides can overcome them.

