The Sun

The Sun.  Is located in the outer bands of our Galaxy  Is the center of our Solar System  Is a STAR!!!  Rotation: once in about 25 days  Revolution: every million years

A ball of glowing plasma!  Largest thing in our solar system  No solid surface  99.8% of the mass of the solar system  75% Hydrogen  25% Helium

It’s Big and Bright!  diameter: 1,390,000 km. diameterkm diameterkm  mass: 1.989e30 kg mass 1.989e30kgmass 1.989e30kg  temperature: 2,000,000 C temperature

Interior  Core – Center – 15 million degrees C  Hydrogen fuel will last 10 billion years

Photosphere  Photosphere - surface, you are looking at it  Sunspots are "cool" regions  can be very large,  as much as 50,000 km in diameter.  Sunspots are caused by complicated and not very well understood interactions with the Sun's magnetic field.

Chromosphere  Color Sphere

Corona  2,000,000 C  Outer layer – white halo  Seen in an eclipse  Means “crown”

Solar Wind  A continuous outward flow of ionized solar gas.  Stream of electrically charged particles  Has an effect on Earth – Aurora Borealis

Prominence  Huge looping mass of gas above the chromosphere

Solar Flare  Eruptions in or near sunspots that cause Hydrogen gas to explode, which releases thermal energy.