The Sun

Carolyn L. Nanca
August 19, 2014
Faculty of Arts and Letters
Earth Science
The Sun
one of the 200 billion stars that make up
the Milky Way Galaxy

an average star compared to the other
stars in the universe


Earths primary source of energy

The Sun
The Suns Structure
solar interior

photosphere

chromosphere

corona

(photos = light, sphere = ball)

radiates most of the sunlight we see and therefore
appears as the bright disk of the Sun

consists of a layer of incandescent gas less than
500 kilometers (300 miles) thick

grainy structure due to granules

90 percent of the Suns surface atoms are
hydrogen and almost 10 percent are helium

Photosphere
this gas spreads laterally,
cooling causes it to darken
and sink back into the
interior

each granule survives for
only 1020 minutes

the combined motion of old
granules being replaced by
new ones gives the
photosphere the
appearance of boiling
Granules
up-and-down
movement of gas
produces the grainy
appearance of the
photosphere
responsible for the
transfer of energy in the
uppermost part of the
Suns interior
Convection
color sphere

thin layer of hot, incandescent gases a few thousand
kilometers thick

observable for a few moments during a total solar
eclipse (appears as a thin red rim around the Sun)

contains numerous spicules
Chromosphere
(spica = point)

flamelike structures that
extend upward about
10,000 kilometers into
the lower corona

produced by the
turbulent motion of the
granules below

Spicules
(corona = crown)
the outermost
portion of the solar
atmosphere
visible only when
the brilliant
photosphere is
blocked
normally extends a
million kilometers or
so from the Sun
Corona
streams of protons and electrons that boil
from the corona

travels outward through the solar system at
high speeds (250800 kilometers a second)

interacts with the bodies of the solar system,
altering its appearance
Solar Wind

Magnetic fields deflect solar winds


upward from the photosphere, the temperature
increases, exceeding 1 million K at the top of the
corona

although the coronal temperature exceeds that
of the photosphere, it radiates much less energy
overall because of its very low density

the high temperature of the corona is probably
caused by sound waves generated by the
convective motion of the photosphere

just as boiling water makes noise, energetic
sound waves generated in the photosphere are
believed to be absorbed by the gases of the
corona, thereby increasing its temperature
small, dark pores about 1,600 kilometers in
diameter

most sunspots last for only a few hours, some
grow into blemishes many times larger than Earth
and last for a month or more

appear dark only by contrast with the brilliant
photosphere

lower temperature : 1,500 K less than that of the
solar surface
Sunspots

Sunspots
over the course of 11 years, the yearly average
number of sunspots slowly increases and then
return to normal levels before rising again for the
subsequent cycle
11-year Sunspot Cycle
(prominere = to jut out)

huge cloudlike
structures, made of
chromospheric gases

best observed when
they are on the edge of
the Sun
Prominences
quiescent prominences
appearance of a fine
tapestry and seem to hang
motionless for days at a
time
material within them is
continually falling like
luminescent rain
eruptive prominences
rise almost explosively
away from the Sun
reach velocities up to 1,000
kilometers (620 miles) per
second and may leave the
Sun entirely
Prominences
brief outbursts that
normally last an hour
or so and appear as
a sudden brightening
of the region above
a sunspot cluster

during their
existence, enormous
quantities of energy
are released across
the entire
electromagnetic
spectrum, intensifying
solar winds
Solar flares
following a strong
solar flare, Earths
upper atmosphere
above the magnetic
poles is set aglow for
several nights

aurora borealis
(Northern lights)

aurora australis
(Southern lights)
Auroras

What is the source of the Suns energy?

protonproton
chain reaction
four hydrogen atoms have a combined atomic
mass of whereas the atomic mass of helium is
4.003, or 0.029 less than the combined mass of the
hydrogen
the tiny missing mass is emitted as energy
according to Einsteins formula E = mc
2
, where E
equals energy, m equals mass and c equals the
speed of light
because the speed of light is very great, the
amount of energy released from even a small
amount of mass is enormous
Proton-Proton Chain Reaction
= Nuclear Fusion
only a small percentage (0.7%) of the hydrogen
in the proton proton reaction is actually
converted to energy

the Sun is consuming an estimated 600 million
tons of hydrogen each second, with about 4
million tons of it being converted to energy

the by-product of hydrogen burning is helium,
which forms the solar core

Proton-Proton Chain Reaction
= Nuclear Fusion

To initiate the protonproton reaction,
the Suns internal temperature must
have reached several million degrees.
What was the source of this heat?
Recall nebular theory! COLLISION OF PARTICLES. When a gas
is squeezed (compressed) its temperature increases. Although
all of the bodies in the solar system were heated in this
manner, the Sun was the only one, due to its mass, that
became hot enough to trigger the protonproton reaction.
Thats all!