The Sun- Chapter 2

1. The Sun- Chapter 2

2. The Sun

3. Facts About Sun

4. 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.

5. Sun/ Earth Comparison • You could fit the diameter of 1,000,000 earth’s inside the sun.

6. Sun’s Layers

8. Layers of the Sun

11. 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 Layer

12. Holes in the corona attribute to the temperature on earth. Drop in atmospheric temperature as sun’s magnetic activity is most intense. Corona and Earth

13. Chromosphere Layer

15. Chromosphere

16. Photosphere Layer • 1). Photosphere 2). Chromosphere 3). Corona

17. Photosphere

18. 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. Chromosphere Layer

19. 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 Photosphere

20. Core Layer

21. 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. The Core

22. Active Sun

23. Prominence • Violent Storms

24. Prominence- Violent Storm

26. 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. Prominence

27. Solar Flares • Another kind of storm with bright bursts of light on sun’s surface.

28. 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 Flares

29. The sun flings out solar wind particles in much the same manner as a garden sprinkler throws out water droplets. Solar Wind

30. 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 Solar Wind

31. Sunspots • Dark areas on sun’s surface.

32. Appear darker because they’re cooler than the rest of sun’s surface. Number appearing is always changing Indication that gases spin or rotate Sunspots

33. Axis • Imaginary vertical line through center of the sun.