Our Sun is a turbulent, active star

1. Our Sun is a turbulent, active star that can have dramatic effects on the Earth and other planets

2. As the Sun turns Like the Earth, the Sun rotates. However, unlike the Earth, the Sun has a complex rotation mechanism.

3. What makes the Sun hot? Fusion in the Sun’s core produces heat/energy

4. The Sun’s Roiling Surface Size of Earth, for comparison Like fudge or oatmeal cooking, the Sun’s surface boils up with heat, then crashes down When these big columns of gas crash down, they generate sound waves inside the Sun. By tracking the speed and path of those sound waves, scientists can understand the inside of the Sun!

5. Sunspots Sunspots denote regions of strong magnetic fields. They appear dark because they are relatively cooler than the surface.

6. The 11 year sunspot cycle The amount of magnetic activity on the Sun varies in an 11 year cycle. A regular cycle of sunspot numbers over the past 300 years.

7. What causes solar activity? Most sunspots and events on the Sun are caused by eruptions and tangles of complex magnetic fields

8. Seeing Magnetic Field Lines Plasma emission traces out magnetic fields in the solar corona

9. Solar Eruptions Common during the Sun’s active periods Huge flare of 28 October 2003 Solar prominence dwarfs Earth in size

10. Explosions on the Sun(Coronal Mass Ejections) A billion tons of hot gas being launched from the Sun. White circle in image indicates size and location of Sun, which is blocked by a metal disk in the instrument.

11. A solar “wind” streams into the solar system and shapes Earth’s magnetosphere

12. The Sun generates Space Weather in our solar system Solar activity can have a dramatic impact on communications, satellites, and astronauts.