A brief history of the solar oblateness. A review

C. Damiani (1) , Jean-Pierre Rozelot (2, 3) , Sandrine Lefebvre (4) , Ali Kilcik (5) , A. G. Kosovichev (6)

1 INAF - Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario
2 OCA - Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur
3 FIZEAU - Laboratoire Hippolyte Fizeau
4 STRATO - LATMOS
5 BBSO - Big Bear Solar Observatory
6 Stanford University

We hereby present a review on solar oblateness measurements. By emphasizing historical data, we illustrate how the discordance between experimental results can lead to substantial improvements in the building of new technical apparatus as well as to the emergence of new ideas to develop new theories. We stress out the need to get accurate data from space to enhance our knowledge of the solar core in order to develop more precise ephemerids and ultimately build possible new gravitational theories.

Mots clés: Sun: characteristic and properties; Solar physics; Solar activity; Solar interior; Relativistic astrophysics

Domaines: Astrophysique stellaire et solaire [astro-ph.SR]; Astrophysique stellaire et solaire [astro-ph.SR]

C. Damiani, Jean-Pierre Rozelot, Sandrine Lefebvre, Ali Kilcik, A. G. Kosovichev. A brief history of the solar oblateness. A review. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 2011, 73 (2-3), pp.241-250. ⟨10.1016/j.jastp.2010.02.021⟩. ⟨hal-00519433⟩