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The Sun

The Sun. The Sun. 70% hydrogen and 28% helium. Is a star Made of gases Is our primary source of energy Contains 99.8% of the entire mass of Solar System. Light (radiation). Image at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/images/chromosphere/LimbFlareJan12_strip2.jpg.

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The Sun

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  1. The Sun

  2. The Sun 70% hydrogen and 28% helium • Is a star • Made of gases • Is our primary source of energy • Contains 99.8% of the entire mass of Solar System Light (radiation) Image at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/images/chromosphere/LimbFlareJan12_strip2.jpg

  3. How Big is the Sun? About 110 times wider than Earth Or 1.3 million times bigger than Earth 865 thousand miles wide Photo from http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/bestofsoho/bestofsoho.html

  4. Interesting Facts about the sun • Light takes 8 minutes to reach the Earth • (5.3 hours to reach Pluto) • Sun emits radio waves – listen to the sun…from NASA SOHO satellite • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWCJkG31h0c

  5. The Sun and its Planets to Scale

  6. Inside the Sun • Core • Core • RadiativeZone • Convection zone Image at http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/interior.shtml

  7. How does the sun produce energy? • The Sun produces energy by the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium in its core. Nuclear Fusion • hydrogenatoms in the core are crushed together (fused) into a heliumatom and energy • energy is then radiated out from the core and moves across the solar system

  8. Hydrogen yields Helium + ENERGY Great Pressure

  9. Sun’s Atmosphere Layers

  10. The Sun’s Atmosphere Layers

  11. Features of the Sun

  12. Sun Spots • Sun Spots- These are dark, cool areas on the photosphere • come in pairs • intense magnetic fields reduce energy in that spot • Caused by movement of gasestangling the magnetic field

  13. Solar Flares • Solar Flares are sudden, violent explosions from the sun • release gas, electrons, visible light, ultraviolet light and X-rays • caused by sudden magnetic field changes in areas where the sun's magnetic field is concentrated(often near sun spots)

  14. Effects of Solar Flares • When charged particles reach the Earth's magnetic field, they interact with it at the poles to produce the auroras • Solar flares can disrupt communications, satellites, GPS navigation systems and even power grids

  15. Coronal Mass Ejections (CME’s) • Solar flares twist back on themselves and cut off from the sun • Release blob of plasma into space • Plasma is superheated electrically charged gas

  16. Effects of CME • Can damage satellites and communications • Very dangerous to astronauts • Power interruptions

  17. Solar Wind • Blows charged particles away from the Sun • Charged particles hit Earth’s magnetic field • Create Auroras or Northern (borealis) and Southern (australis) Lights http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/bestofsoho/Movies/animation/Solarwind.mpg

  18. Auroras • Solar wind charged particles interact with atoms in our atmospherenear poles • oxygen and nitrogen make red and green • nitrogen can also make violet

  19. How does the sun affect the Earth? • Gravity • Orbits- The Sun’s powerful gravity keeps the planets in orbit • Location - Our distance from the Sun is “just right” for temperature and brightness of the Earth • Radiation • Our Sun (and all active stars) emits radiation radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-ray and even some gamma rays. • Most of the sunlight is yellow visible light. • Solar Phenomena • Solar flares, CME’s • Earth’s protection • Earth’s atmosphere filters out some frequencies • Ozone layer protects us from some ultra-violet, and most x-rays and gamma rays • Warmth

  20. The Sun keeps us warm… • Sunlight is absorbed by Earth • The Sun does NOT send “heat rays” into space. • The Sun’s light is absorbed by Earth (clouds, plants, oceans, rock…) • Absorbed light energy is re-emitted as infra-red – The Greenhouse Effect • Earth’s atmosphere is warmed by the Earth’s surface

  21. How does our Sun compare to other Stars? Our Sun is a dwarf—medium mass • Active stars range in size from supergiants to dwarfs • Stars range from very bright (supergiants) to very dim (dwarfs) • Stars range from very hot blue on the outside (O class) to cool red on the outside (M class) Our Sun is a medium-bright dwarf Our Sun is in-between--yellow

  22. So is our Sun an average star? • No—most stars are smaller and cooler than our Sun BUT • Most of the bright stars we see are bigger and hotter

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