PH1600: Introductory Astronomy
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PH1600: Introductory Astronomy
Lecture 12: The Sun’s Atmosphere
PH1600: Introductory Astronomy
Lecture 12: The Sun’s Atmosphere
Study: Chapter 10 in The Cosmos book
Next Lecture: The Sun’s Interior
School: Michigan Technological University
Professor: Robert Nemiroff
Book: The Cosmos by Pasachoff & Filippenko
Online Course WebCT pages:
http://courses.mtu.edu/
This class can be taken online ONLY, class
attendance is not required!
You are responsible for…
Reading the book
APODs posted during the semester
One chapter per “quiz period”
Anything from that chapter can appear on
quizzes or tests, even if I never mention them
during my lecture(s)
This quiz period covers Chapter 8
APOD review every week during lecture
Completing the Quizzes
Chapter 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, & 8 quizzes already due
Chapter 10 quiz due next
See WebCT at http://courses.mtu.edu/ for
details
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Credit & Copyright: AURA/ NOAO
APOD: 1999 January 18
The Sun
Visible during the day
Closest star
Relatively normal star
Orbits in the Milky Way Galaxy
Mostly hydrogen gas
Then Helium, then “heavy elements”
5 billion years old
The Solar Spectrum
Credit & Copyright: Nigel Sharp (NSF), FTS, NSO, KPNO, AURA, NSF
APOD: 2006 April 23
The Sun
Diameter: 1.4 million km
Mass: 2.0 x 1030 kg
104 Earth diameters
330,000 Earth masses
Spin rate: 26 days at equator
Temperature: 5800 K at photophere
Average density: 1.4 g/cm3
1.4 times that of water
An Erupting Solar Prominence from SOHO
Credit: SOHO-EIT Consortium, ESA, NASA
APOD: 2006 August 7
Sun’s Atmosphere
Photosphere
Chromosphere
Sunspots, granules, faculas
5800 Kelvins
Spicules, filaments, prominences, CMEs
10,000 Kelvins near the top
Corona
Coronal holes
Very low density
>1 million Kelvins (why?)
Solar Flares Cause Sun Quakes
Credit: A. G. Kosovichev (Stanford) et al., MDI, SOHO, ESA, NASA
APOD: 1998 June 1
Dark Sun Sizzling
Credit: TRACE Project, Stanford-Lockheed Institute for Space Research, NASA
APOD: 2006 July 10
Sunspot Cycle – Solar cycle
Magnetic cycle takes 22 years
Solar maximum and Solar minimum
11 years for each polarity
Occur every 11 years
Solar minimum in 2006
Many more sunspots near Solar Max
Also more CME, flares, etc.
A Large Active Region Crosses the Sun
Credit & Copyright: Jack Newton
APOD: 2004 July 26
A Sunspot Up Close
Credit : Vacuum Tower Telescope, NSO, NOAO
APOD: 2005 November 6
Sunspot Metamorphosis: From Bottom to Top
Credit: Dutch Open Telescope, Sterrekundig Instituut Utrecht
APOD: 2005 February 16
Light Bridges on the Sun
Credit: G. Scharmer, L. Rouppe van der Voort (KVA) et al., SVST
APOD: 2000 May 22
The Sun's Surface in 3D
Credit: G. Scharmer (ISP, RSAS) et al., Lockheed-Martin Solar & Astrophysics Lab.
APOD: 2003 June 24
The Magnetic Carpet Of The Sun
Credit: SOHO Consortium, ESA, NASA
APOD: 1999 October 24
A Backward Sunspot and the New Solar Cycle
Credit: MDI, SOHO, ESA, NASA
APOD: 2006 August 30
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sunspot_Numbers.png
Sunspot Loops in Ultraviolet
Credit: TRACE Project, NASA
APOD: 2004 October 10
A Solar Filament Lifts Off
Credit: TRACE, NASA
APOD: 2004 July 25
Spicules: Jets on the Sun
Credit: SST, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, LMSAL
APOD: 2004 August 2
Solar Magnetic Bananas
Credit: A. Gary et al. (NASA/MSFC), NASA
APOD: 1998 June 29
Filaments Across the Sun
Credit & Copyright: Greg Piepol (sungazer.net)
APOD: 2004 December 6
A Prominent Solar Prominence from SOHO
Credit: SOHO - EIT Consortium, ESA, NASA
APOD: 2004 March 30
A Twisted Solar Eruptive Prominence
Credit: SOHO Consortium, EIT, ESA, NASA
APOD: 2003 February 23
Pleiades, Planets, And Hot Plasma
Credit: SOHO - LASCO Consortium, ESA, NASA
APOD: 2000 May 24
Coronal Holes on the Sun
Credit: SOHO - EIT Consortium, ESA, NASA
APOD: 2003 March 18
Solar Eclipse and SOHO
Credit: 2006 Team - Williams College Eclipse Expedition, NSF, National Geographic,
SOHO Consortium, ESA, NASA
APOD: 2006 March 31
A Powerful Solar Flare
Credit: SOHO Consortium, LASCO, ESA, NASA
APOD: 2003 October 29
An Antarctic Total Solar Eclipse
Credit & Copyright: Fred Bruenjes (moonglow.net)
APOD: 2003 December 8
The Crown of the Sun
Credit & Copyright: Koen van Gorp
APOD: 2006 April 7
A Wind From The Sun
Credit: SOHO Consortium, UVCS, EIT, ESA, NASA
APOD: 2000 March 18
The Sun's Heliosphere & Heliopause
Credit & Copyright: P. C. Frisch (U. Chicago) et al., U. Indiana
APOD: 2002 June 24
APOD: 2000 January 10
Brown Sun Bubbling
Credit & Copyright: Robert Gendler