The Sun

Solar Facts Our Sun is a star, just like all the other stars in the night sky The name of our star is “The Sun”, but also “Sol” Latin for sun is “solis”, Greek for sun is “helios” Holds the entire Solar System together by its immense gravity

Solar Facts Size: 1.4 million km. 110x Earth’s diameter. 1 million Earths could fit inside the Sun. Temperature: Surface = 5,000° C (9,932° F), Inside = 15,000,000° C (27,000,000° F) Mass: 99.8% of entire Solar System’s mass, gravity = 28x Earth’s. Rotation (spinning): 25 days for equator to rotate, 27 days for poles to rotate Revolution: Sun revolves around center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Sun’s Interior Photosphere Chromosphere Core Corona Sunspots Prominences & Solar Flares Where is the . . . Convective Zone? Radiation Zone?

Sun’s Atmosphere Corona (“Crown”) Photosphere (photo = “light”) Outer atmosphere, normally not visible (except during full solar eclipse) extends into space for millions of kilometers Photosphere (photo = “light”) Middle atmosphere, is visible Considered the surface layer of the sun Chromosphere (chromo = “color”) Inner atmosphere, has a reddish color Sometimes partially visible during a solar eclipse

Sun’s Interior Convection Zone Radiation Zone Core Outermost layer of interior Gases move thru zone by convection currents (transfer of heat by fluid movement) Radiation Zone Middle layer of interior Energy produced in core moves outward thru zone by radiation (transfer of heat by energy waves) Core Produces enormous amount of energy by nuclear fusion, fusing hydrogen atoms (H) into helium atoms (He) under intense pressure and heat

Solar Features Sunspots Prominences Solar Flares Solar Wind Dark spots on the sun’s surface Areas of gas that are cooler than surrounding gases Prominences Huge loops of gases linking sunspot regions Solar Flares Prominences sometimes connect, causing the sun’s surface gases to erupt far into space Solar Wind Charged particles streaming from the sun, increased during solar flares Causes the planetary auroras, can interfere and damage electronic equipment