Indirect methods for measuring variations of the solar constant

Abstract

The difference between the methods that measure delta S, and those that measure variations in the solar luminosity, delta L, is discussed. It is shown that the past practice of simply relating delta S to delta L by geometrical arguments is not valid because of anisotropy of the solar radiation. It is concluded that direct techniques prove the existence of short term variability that is fully explainable in terms of the passage of active regions (spots and faculae) on the face of the Sun. The obervations of changes in the solar diameter support the existence of structurally induced variations of the solar luminosity on timescales of tens of years, which are significant in the understanding of climatic variations.