8. The Sun

Joshua Barnes -- Fall 1999

Topics:

• Solar structure
• Hydrogen burning
• Composition
• Surface layers
• Sunspot cycles
• Prominences & flares

Web Resources:

• A Pint Of The Sun

  A thought-experiment: if we could transport a pint of gas from the center of the Sun to Earth, what would happen?

• Solar prominence [source]

  One of the largest eruptions ever observed is shown in this image. This huge arch is created by gas flowing along magnetic field lines.

• Sunspots [source]

  A close-up of a large group of sunspots. These cool regions result when powerful magnetic fields prevent convection from transporting heat from the solar interior.

• Extreme UV image [source]

  This image, taken using ultra-violet light, shows gas at temperatures of 1,500,000°K. Such gas reveals the inner part of the Sun's magnetic field.

• Solar corona [source]

  The solar corona is a thin envelope of very hot gas gas surrounding the Sun. It becomes visible during a solar eclipse when the Moon blocks out the Sun's disk. The long streamers of the corona follow the Sun's magnetic field.

• Solar Rotation & Activity (2 Mbyte Quicktime) [source]

  Sun and inner atmosphere, imaged using ultra-violet light.

Homework 8: Spectral Lines, due 10/18.

Quiz 8: Composition Of The Sun