Sunstorms
Solar Spin The Sun is made of gas and thus it is not rigid. All parts don’t spin at the same rate. The equator spins faster than the poles
Solar Spin and its Magnetic Field The Sun has a strong magnetic field The uneven spinning of the Sun gradually twists up the magnetic field so that it goes in and out of the photosphere.
Sunspots Where the magnetic field goes in and out of the photosphere convection is limited. At those points currents don’t carry heat up thus the surface is cooler and thus darker….Sunspots!
Because the Field goes in and out Sunspots always appear in pairs One for In… One for Out The more twisted the magnetic field is the more it goes in and out of the surface and the more sunspots appear
The Solar Cycle After about 11 years (7-16), The Sun’s magnetic field gets so twisted it collapses. The Polarity of the field switches, North becomes South and South, North. Then it twists-up for 11 or so more years, collapses polarity switches back and it starts again. Thus the whole process repeats about every 22 years.
The Sunspot Cycle The number of sunspots varies with the twisting of the Sun’s magnetic field peaking about every 11 years when the field is most twisted, and there are the most sunspots Sunspots and related sunstorms cause interference in radio, TV and satellite (cellular) systems.
Prominences Gas is often trapped by the magnetic field between sunspots. These cooled gasses arch out in great red-orange loops called … Prominences
A large looping prominence
Solar Flares Solar flares are when an area near a sunspot suddenly brightens for a few minutes or hours. Though the process is not well understood the twisting of the magnetic field is probably involved
The Hot Corona and the Solar Wind The magnetic field may be what heats the Corona to temperatures hotter than the photosphere by “whipping” the gas molecules up to high speeds and thus temperatures Thus in the Corona molecules are accelerated to high speeds. They escape the Sun’s Gravity… and stream away from the Sun… The Solar Wind.