The Sun
Components of the Sun
• Core
• Radiative zone
• Convective zone
• Atmosphere
• Photosphere
• Chromosphere
• Corona
• Solar wind (mass loss)
Solar Power
Sun’s glow fueled by Nuclear Fusion
• Fusion is process by which lighter atoms
undergo “collisions” that spawn heavier atoms
and a release of energy for radiation
• Fission, on the other hand, is when a heavy
atom “breaks up” to yield a lighter atom plus
energy
Proton-Proton Chain
• p-p chain converts 4 1H 1 4He
(so 4 bare protons combine to make a
helium nucleus with 2p’s and 2n’s)
• Also get photons and neutrinos in this
process
• Neutrinos are (nearly) massless
particles traveling near light speeds
and interacting only weakly with
matter
The Chain
Solar Neutrinos
• Neutrinos are elementary
particles moving near light
speed, but which interact
only weakly with matter.
• They are important
because they can come
from nuclear reactions and
emerge directly from the
core of the Sun.
• Raymond Davis arranged
the first neutrino
experiment. He A modern neutrino experiment,
discovered a “neutrino Super-Kamiokande run by Japan
problem”, but this seems
to be resolved today.
Solar Atmosphere
• Photosphere: the layer that we “see” in visible
light
• Chromosphere: tenuous, somewhat hotter layer
above photosphere
• Corona: extended region of million degree gas
above chromosphere
Components of the Sun
• Core
• Radiative zone
• Convective zone
• Atmosphere
• Photosphere
• Chromosphere
• Corona
• Solar wind (mass loss)
The Transition Region
Solar Activity
• Sunspots – cool blemishes that come and
go on an 11 year cycle
• During cycle, spots initially appear at high
latitudes and thereafter at progressively lower
lats.
• Prominences – extended columns of gas
that trace out magnetic loops (can rise to
50,000 km above photosphere)
• Flares – explosive and energetic events
involving hot gas of up to 40 million K
Sunspots
Solar Granulation -
Convective Cells
Prominences
Solar Cycle in X-rays
X-ray emission from the solar corona, taken every 120 days, from
1991 (left) to 1995 (going right)
Solar Cycle in Extreme UV
Images from the SOHO satellite
Sun-Earth Connection
Magnetic Loops at the Sun
The Solar Wind
• 1951, Biermann discovered solar wind by
considering comet tails
• Wind speed near earth is around 400 km/s,
so travel time across 1 AU is ~4 days
• Provides injection of material resulting in
aurorae
• Combination of wind and magnetic field
have caused a “spin down” of Sun’s
rotation
Auroras
• Auroras, also known as the northern lights or southern
lights, are natural light displays that occur in the Earth's
atmosphere when solar activity triggers magnetic storms:
• How they form
The Sun emits a constant stream of particles called the
solar wind, some of which are captured by Earth's magnetic
field and travel toward the poles. When these particles
enter the atmosphere, they collide with gases, exciting
them and causing them to emit light.
• Where they occur
Auroras occur in the thermosphere, one of the layers of
Earth's upper atmosphere. They form in ovals over the
magnetic North and South Poles.
• What causes them
Solar activity, such as solar flares or coronal mass
ejections, triggers magnetic storms that cause auroras.
Auroras
• What they look like
Auroras are brilliant ribbons of light that appear in different
colors depending on the gases in the atmosphere.
• Other planets
Auroras can also occur on other planets in our solar
system, including Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
Solar Sailing
Changes in the Sun
Temperature-Luminosity
States
