SOLAR CONSTANT TEMPORAL AND FREQUENCY CHARACTERISTICS

The Sun's total irradiance at the mean Sun-Earth distance decreased from mid-1979 to mid-1987 during the descending part of solar cycle 21. After the minimum had been reached it increased with the onset of cycle 22 and came to a maximum at mid-1991 during the highest solar activity of cycle 22. From the modelized shape of the time signal of the solar constant based on the Space Absolute Radiometric Reference (SARR), temporal, amplitude and behaviour characteristics are derived. It is suggested that the variation observed over a period of more than 14 years is the response of the outer solar layers, the photosphere in particular, to some excitation originating somewhere near the bottom of the solar convection zone also responsible for the solar spots and the correlated photospheric features. Wavelet analysis and periodiograms are shown for the solar constant and the sunspot index. Their non-stationarity is well illustrated as well as strong recurrent periods.