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Properties of the Sun

Properties of the Sun. Chapter 24 Section 3 Pages 684 - 691. Structure of the Sun. Four main parts Solar interior The sun’s core, fusion occurs here Photosphere Photo- means light, sphere- means ball Chromosphere Chromo- means color, sphere- means ball Corona Means Crown.

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Properties of the Sun

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  1. Properties of the Sun Chapter 24 Section 3 Pages 684 - 691

  2. Structure of the Sun • Four main parts • Solar interior • The sun’s core, fusion occurs here • Photosphere • Photo- means light, sphere- means ball • Chromosphere • Chromo- means color, sphere- means ball • Corona • Means Crown

  3. Solar Interior • Nuclear fusion – 4 Hydrogen nuclei are converted into a single Helium atom • A small amount of mass is converted to incredible amounts of energy • As H converted to He the core continues to increase in size

  4. Photosphere • Visible “surface,” radiates most of the light we see • Roughly 500 km thick, 90% H, 10% He • Granules – bright and dark dots visible on the sun, about the size of Texas • Caused by convection • Hot gas rises to the surface = brighter • Cool gas sinks below = darker

  5. Chromosphere • Relatively thin layer of hot gases, a few thousand km thick • Not visible because photosphere is too bright • Consists of hot gas under low pressure, produces a reddish emission spectrum • Must be studied with a filter or during a solar eclipse

  6. Corona • Outermost layer, one million km thick • Temperatures can reach 1 million K • Solar wind – streams of protons and electrons that flow from the corona; have enough speed to escape the sun’s gravity

  7. Solar Activity • Sunspots - Relatively “cool/dark” regions in the photosphere • 1500 K cooler causes it to look darker • 11 year cycle • Prominences – concentration of gases above the sun’s surface that appear as a bright arch-like structure • Composed of ionized gas trapped by magnetic fields extended from regions of intense solar activity

  8. Solar Prominence

  9. Solar Activity • Solar flare – sudden and tremendous eruption in the solar chromosphere • Usually occur around sunspot clusters & last ~ 2 hours • Release large amounts of UV, radio and X-ray radiation • Cause Northern/Southern Lights & communication problems • Aurora cycle corresponds to 11 year sunspot cycle

  10. Solar Flares/Auroras

  11. Composition of the Sun • Chemical Composition • 94% Hydrogen • 5.9% Helium • 0.1% O, C, Ne, N, Mg, Fe, Si • Is the sun a gas or a plasma? • The answer is both • A plasma is just a gas that’s temperature is so high that its electrons move about freely, making it sensitive to magnetism • Some scientists say plasma is a fourth state of matter

  12. When will the sun burn out? • Our sun is a middle-aged star, it has enough Hydrogen to burn for roughly 100 billion years • However, as the sun runs low on fuel it will expand and engulf the earth, we only have 5.5 billion years before that happens • Think about this… Jupiter is a gas giant • If it were 10 times more massive fusion could occur at the core and our solar system would have 2 stars

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