Transcript The Sun - teachyourselfastronomy.com

The Sun- Chapter 2
The Sun
Facts About Sun
Distance from the Earth
Diameter of the Sun
92.957 million miles
864,950 miles
Age
Mass
5 Billion Years
1.99 million, trillion,
trillion tons
10,900 degrees F.
97 Million degrees F.
Surface Temperature
Core Temperature
Composition
90% Hydrogen, most of
rest is helium.
Sun’s Color
The Sun Is Really White
 Although the sun appears yellow when
seen from Earth, it’s actually white! We
see the sunlight after it has been filtered
through the Earth’s atmosphere. The air
scatters that blue component, making the
sky appear blue and the sunlight yellow.

Sun/ Earth Comparison

You could fit the diameter of 1,000,000
earth’s inside the sun.
Sun’s Layers
Layers of the Sun
Corona Layer

Outermost layer of sun’s
atmosphere

Gas particles up to
1,700,000 degrees C.

Gas particles spread far
apart

Barely cause a spacecraft
to heat up.
Corona and Earth

Holes in the corona
attribute to the
temperature on earth.

Drop in atmospheric
temperature as sun’s
magnetic activity is
most intense.
Chromosphere Layer
Chromosphere
Photosphere Layer

1). Photosphere 2). Chromosphere 3). Corona
Photosphere

Corona-top
Chromosphere-bottom

Chromosphere- Beneath
Corona. Middle layer.

Several 1,000 km. thick

Gases can suddenly flare
up and stream as far as
16,000 km in space.

Avg. temp- 27,800
degrees C.
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r

Photosphere

Innermost layer

550 km. thick

Often referred to as
“surface of sun”

Temp don’t usually
exceed 6,000
degrees C.

Venus and sun’s
photosphere
Core Layer
The Core

Temperatures begin to
rise again in the core.

Up to 15,000,000
degrees C.

Hydrogen atoms are
fused into helium atoms,
releasing sun’s energy as
heat and light.
Active Sun
Prominence

Violent Storms
Prominence- Violent Storm
Prominence

Violent Storm with loops
of gas

Twisted loops originate in
chromosphere

Gases bend backward
and shower gases back
onto sun

Storms can grow to size
of sun and then
disappear a few hours
later.
Solar Flares

Another kind of storm with bright bursts of
light on sun’s surface.
Solar Flares

Doesn’t last more than an
hour.

During flare temperature
can be twice the
temperature of the sun’s
surface

Huge amounts of energy
released into space.
Solar Wind

The sun flings out
solar wind particles in
much the same
manner as a garden
sprinkler throws out
water droplets.
Solar Wind

Continuous streak of
high-energy particles
released into space in all
directions from sun’s
corona.

Solar flares increase wind
speed and strength

Increase can interfere
with radio signals and
telephone
communications on earth
Sunspots

Dark areas on sun’s surface.
Sunspots

Appear darker
because they’re
cooler than the rest of
sun’s surface.

Number appearing is
always changing

Indication that gases
spin or rotate
Axis

Imaginary vertical line through center of
the sun.