The Cosmic Engine - Summary

Space, a vast open place stretching infnitely outwards. Through time, we humans have looked up into the heavens
and thought of what wonders it holds. At frst we saw the sun, moon, stars and the dark sky. Then with the telescope
we came to discover much more in space, a wide variety of o!ects ut it was still a minute fraction. Today in the
modern world with the coming of technology we"ve een ale to delve deeper into the mystery of space looking at
neulae, #uasars, stars, gala$ies, planets and many more o!ects yet still we have little knowledge as to what is out
there.
1. The Life Cycle of Stars
%ife cycle of a star of one stellar&solar mass, which is a star like our sun'
2.
Sunspots
A sunspot is a dark part of the sun"s surface that is cooler than the surrounding area due to strong
magnetic felds preventing the heat transfer through the sun"s convection motion.
(or sunspots the area within and without the magnetic region must e in e#uilirium. )utside the
area is gas pressure while within there is oth gas and magnetic pressure. *ecause the pressure
must e in alance, magnetic pressure inside the sunspot allows the gas pressure to e lower than
the area outside and thus the temperature is lower.
Sunspots form and stay for periods ranging for hours to months and are carried around the sun"s
surface y its rotation. Sunspots are dependant on a cycle and they generally correspond to high
solar activity or conversely with low solar activity.
3. Solar Emissions
Two important solar emissions + electromagnetic radiation , solar wind
Solar wind is charged and has the aility to carry interplanetary magnetic felds -./(0. The sunspot
cycle contriutes to solar wind due to the amount of solar activity that is present. The greater the
activity the more intense the wind and vice versa
Solar wind e1ects Earth through interfering with its magnetic feld y creating a magnetosphere.
.nteractions etween the magnetic felds cause auroras, geomagnetic storms, geomagnetically
inducing currents etc.
4. Sunspot Activity and its Efects n Earth
The ./( disrupts the Earth"s magnetic feld and causes prolems to technology. There is a possiility
of causing geomagnetic storms and thus causing geomagnetically induced currents in conductors in
close pro$imity.
2uring this time increase in 34 radiation heats up the earth"s atmosphere, causing it to e$pand
therefore the low-oriting satellites then encounter an increased drag which causes them to drop
their orits
5igher altitude satellites e$perience impact from high-speed particles from solar wind. This corrodes
the satellites and can also allow charge uild-up causing electrical discharges causing component
damage.
6ith the solar wind comes geomagnetic storms and hence may disrupt the ionosphere and cause
issues with telecommunications
!. Technolo"ical Advancement
Early Evidence of studying the sun + pyramids&Stonehenge
Aristotle 330BC 7eocentric
Aristachus 240BC 5eliocentric
Claudius #tolemy 120 AD 7eocentric with
Epicycles
$icholas Copernicus 1473-1543AD
5eliocentric
Tycho %rahe 89:;-8;<8 Accurate
)servations
&ohannes 'epler 89=8-8;>< 5eliocentric
/odel with elliptical orits
Star Ener"y Source Conditions
?rotostar @uclear reaction hasn"t egun Clumping of dust and gas
/ain Se#uence 5ydrogen AB 5elium SuCcient temperature to
initiate nuclear fusion, state
of e#uilirium, gas pressure A
gravity
Ded 7iant 5elium AB Caron E
Super 7iant Caron AB .ron, )$ygen,
Silicon, @eon etc
E
6hite 2warf @o more nuclear reactions The remaining caron core of
a red giant, which has
e$pelled all its gas and
matter.
(alileo (alilei 1564-1642 Telescope
)servations
Sir )saac $e*ton 1642-1727 /athematical
Theory of 7ravity
+odern *orld , -u..lespace Telescope
)ver the course of a couple of millennia we have truly advanced and come to a greater understanding of
space and our star, the sun. This is only the tip of the iceerg there is yet so much more to discover, there is
always the need to look eyond and !ust see what we can fnd developing our technology and refning our
skills so that we may do so.