The Sun Is the Sun a star or a planet? Star!

The Sun is 1 astronomical unit from Earth The Sun is 1 astronomical unit from Earth. This is equal to ______________________ km.                                       150 000 000 km = 150 million kilometers away!

The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It moves across the sky along a path called the ECLIPTIC

I Importance of the Sun! Start of all food chains (photosynthesis) Provides heat and light energy Keeps all the planets in orbit

The core of the sun reaches 15 million degrees Celsius. This is where the sun’s energy is produced by nuclear fusion reactions.

The chemical reaction that takes place in the core of the Sun is called NUCLEAR FUSION. Temperature and Pressure inside the sun and other stars is very high. This causes hydrogen atoms to fuse together to form helium atoms. This produces large amounts of light and heat energy that travels from the sun through space.

THIS MEANS THAT THE TWO MAIN GASES ON THE SUN ARE: Hydrogen 75% Helium 25%

SOLAR FLARES

What is the Aurora Borealis? The Northern lights are formed when particles from the solar flares travel to the poles and react with the gases in our atmosphere.

What are sun spots? Sun spots are cooler regions on the sun. They are mini storms. Sun spot activity is high during 2000-2003. This will fade come 2007. Sun spots provide evidence that the sun rotates.

Sun Rotation The center of the sun rotates every 26 days. Regions near the poles rotate too but move more slowly (36 days). Therefore the sun is not a solid body.

Eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun and the Moon's shadow crosses the Earth North Americans can view the next solar eclipse, in the year 2012. Solar Eclipse A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the Moon and Sun. North Americans can view the next lunar eclipse 2007 March 3-4. Lunar Eclipse

The Moon is a cold, rocky body about 3,476 km in diameter. It has no light of its own but shines by sunlight reflected from its surface. The Moon orbits Earth about once every 29 and a half days. As it circles our planet, the changing position of the Moon with respect to the Sun causes it to cycle through a series of phases. New, New Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, Old Crescent and back to New again. MoonPhases

When the Moon is Full, it rises at sunset and is visible all night long. At the end of the night, the Full Moon sets just as the Sun rises. It happens because the Moon is directly opposite the Sun in the sky when the Moon is Full. No Correlation between Full Moon and……. - the homicide rate -traffic accidents -crisis calls to police or fire stations -domestic violence -births of babies -suicide -major disasters -casino payout rates -assassinations -kidnappings -aggression by professional hockey players -violence in prisons -psychiatric admissions [one study found admissions were lowest during a full moon] -agitated behavior by nursing home residents -assaults -gunshot wounds -stabbings -emergency room admissions [but see] -behavioral outbursts of psychologically challenged rural adults -lycanthropy -vampirism -alcoholism -sleep walking -epilepsy