The Sun and Its Domain

Warm Up Questions CPS Questions (1-2) Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Chapter Overview  The Sun and Its Domain  The Terrestrial Planets  The Outer Planets  Dwarf Planets, Comets, Asteroids, and Kuiper Belt Objects Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Lesson Overview  The Sun’s Energy  The Sun’s Core, Atmosphere, and Sunspots  The Solar System’s Structure Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Quick Write What are some of the differences in the way you regard the Sun, and the way an ancient Egyptian teenager would have regarded it? (Note to teacher: Use “Pick a Student” button in CPS) Chapter 3, Lesson 1

The Sun’s Energy  Hermann von Helmholtz and Lord Kelvin proposed that the source of the Sun’s energy was a very slow gravitational contraction  Scientists began considering that mass can be converted to energy, and energy into mass Courtesy SOHO-EIT Consortium/ESA/NASA

The Nuclear Fusion Power of the Sun  An atom’s nucleus is made up of protons, positively charged particles; and neutrons, particles with no electrical charge  In nuclear fusion, two nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus. They “fuse.”  Primary source of the Sun’s energy is a series of nuclear fusion reactions Chapter 3, Lesson 1

The Sun’s Core, Atmosphere, and Sunspots  The equilibrium conditions in the Sun are known as hydrostatic equilibrium  Great pressures at the center of the Sun pushes protons close enough together that hydrogen fusion can take place  Fusion reactions in the core provide a heat source

Chapter 3, Lesson 1 The Three Modes of Solar Energy Transfer 1.Conduction is the transfer of energy in a solid by collisions between atoms and/or molecules

Chapter 3, Lesson 1 The Three Modes of Solar Energy Transfer, cont. 2.Convection occurs when the atoms of a warm liquid or gas move from one place to another 3.Radiation is the transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves

Chapter 3, Lesson 1 The Three Layers of the Sun’s Atmosphere 1.Photosphere is the visible part of the Sun and that part of the solar atmosphere that emits light 2.Chromosphere is the region between the photosphere and the corona

Chapter 3, Lesson 1 The Three Layers of the Sun’s Atmosphere, cont. 3.Corona is the outermost portion of the Sun’s atmosphere 1988 © University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

Chapter 3, Lesson 1/ The Solar Wind  Solar wind is a continuous outflow of charged particles from the Sun  Moving at about 249 miles per second near Earth, it plays a significant role in space weather activity Courtesy of Marshall Space Flight Center/NASA

Chapter 3, Lesson 1 The Impact of Sunspots and Solar Flares on Earth’s Climate  Sunspots are the dark spots appearing periodically in groups on the Sun’s surface  A solar flare is an explosion near or at the Sun’s surface, seen as an increase in activity such as prominences (bulges) Courtesy of NSO/AURA/NSF

Chapter 3, Lesson 1 The Solar System’s Structure  The Sun more than 99 percent of the Solar System’s mass  10 times larger in diameter than Jupiter  Sun’s diameter is about 862,000 miles Jupiter and Saturn: Courtesy of NASA

How the Solar System Formed  Evolutionary theory - how the solar system came to be as part of a natural sequence of events  Catastrophe theory refers to an unusual event  Modern evolutionary theories - the formation of the Solar System resulted from gravitational forces and pressures on heat and mass Chapter 3, Lesson 1

How the Solar System Formed, cont.  Conservation of angular momentum - an object will spin more slowly as resistance increases and spin faster as resistance decreases Courtesy of D. Berry/STSCI AUL

Classifying Objects in the Solar System  Four innermost planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars – are called the terrestrial planets  Next four planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – are called the Jovian planets  Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Classifying Objects in the Solar System, cont. A planet is a celestial body that  orbits the Sun  has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape  has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Learning Check CPS Questions (3-4) Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Activity 1: Sun BINGO Challenge  Randomly fill in the terms on your BINGO card  Match the definition read by your instructor with the term on your card and mark that square  Call BINGO when you have five in a row vertically, horizontally or diagonally Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Activity 2: Three Kinds of Energy Transfer Write each of the examples into the column where it belongs Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Activity 3: Observing the Sun We know a great deal about the Sun through the many discoveries that scientists have made. Think about how you might view the Sun differently if you did not have access to any scientific data. Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Technology Enrichment: Solar Wind Watch the videos and answer the questions on the worksheet Chapter 3, Lesson 1

ReviewReview  The Sun provides the light, heat and energy that make life on Earth possible  In order for the Sun to produce its enormous power, a large number of fusions of hydrogen nuclei must take place every second  The three layers of the Sun’s atmosphere are photosphere, chromosphere, and corona Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Review, cont.  Sunspots and solar flares impact Earth’s climate  The Sun makes up more than 99% of the Solar System’s entire mass  Theories that share common ideas about how the solar system formed are: evolutionary, catastrophe, and modern evolutionary Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Review Questions CPS Questions (5-6) Chapter 3, Lesson 1

SummarySummary  The Sun’s Energy  The Sun’s Core, Atmosphere, and Sunspots  The Solar System’s Structure Chapter 3, Lesson 1

Next…Next…  Done – The Sun and Its Domain  Next – The Terrestrial Planets Courtesy of NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington