Our Sun
16 October 2003
Today:
• Basic facts about the sun
• Solar details: Granulation, sunspots, magnetic fields, flares, prominences, corona, solar wind
• What is the sun made of?
Basic facts about the Sun
• Distance from earth: 150 million km (400 x as far as moon)
• Angular diameter: 1/2 degree (same as moon)• True diameter: 110 x earth’s diameter• Mass: 330,000 times earth’s mass• Average density: 1.4 times that of water• Intensity of sunlight at earth’s location: 1400 watts per
square meter• Total power output: 3.9 x 1026 watts• Surface temperature: 5800 K• Made of ionized gases
Basic facts about the Sun
• Distance from earth: 150 million km (400 x as far as moon) measured using radar
• Angular diameter: 1/2 degree (same as moon)• True diameter: 110 x earth’s diameter (400 x moon’s)• Mass: 330,000 times earth’s mass gravity!• Average density: 1.4 times that of water mass/volume• Intensity of sunlight at earth’s location: 1400 watts per
square meter measure directly• Total power output: 3.9 x 1026 watts calculate• Surface temperature: 5800 K from power or spectrum• Made of ionized gases too hot for anything else!
Sunspots, Granulation
Electromagnetism
• The sun is made of ionized atoms and electrons -- electrically charged particles
• Charged particles in motion create magnetic fields
• Magnetic fields can “trap” electrically charged particles (which can move parallel to the field but can’t go far in perpendicular directions)
Magnetic activity around sunspots
Magnetic activity around sunspots
Solar Prominences
Solar Prominences
The Solar Corona
The Solar Corona and Solar Wind
What is the sun made out of?• 74% hydrogen• 25% helium• 1% all other elements (oxygen, carbon,
nitrogen, neon, aluminum, silicon, iron, . . . )
The Periodic Table
Masses and rarities increase (mostly) toward the bottom of the table.