Eggplant/219

Could you please provide a reference that shows a visualization of the solar plasma over several AU?

I am not aware whether it is available somewhere, though chances are it is somewhere, as it is based on known set of params. I’ll see if I can find something. If not, I’ll render it, but that may take some time.

Also I would like to read more about the mass extinction events that you described in #175.

Hope you are not in a hurry. I’ll have some reading put together prolly by summer.

Do you do paleontology for a living?

Nope. I’d be standing a trial for a heresy pronto. I like the idea that science is never settled and that consensus is a slow strangulation. Does not mesh with the academe ideas. They do pay a lip service to the above, but in reality they fall under the same laws as bureaucracy does.

Concerning the solar plasma: I’m currently going through a learning experience modeling the atmosphere of Venus. I’m coding up the Venus International Reference Atmosphere (VIRA) based upon the Venus-GRAM model. One of the cool things about this model is it describes the atomic and molecular species of the Venusian atmosphere as a function of altitude. What suprised me was the atmosphere of Venus changed from a carbon dioxide / nitrogen dominant atmosphere at an altitude of 98 km to an atomic hydrogen / helium dominant atmosphere at 156 km. I believe what I’m seeing is the transition from a Venusian atmosphere to a solar “atmosphere”. This solar “atmosphere” is a free molecular gas extending from the Sun’s photosphere to the outer Solar System. [snip]

Don’t be hasty!
There is no “solar gas”. The plasma and solar plasma is governed by other rules than fluid dynamics. Using terms that are related to fluid dynamics leads you to conclusions that may be quite a bit off from what is really out there.
I don’t have the time elaborate, but you can shoot me an email and I’ll give you some leads as time permits.