The Sun Cycle of Solar Activity
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The SunCycle of Solar Activity
The Sun
sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov
Sun’s Energy
• Due to nuclear fusion
• Hydrogen atoms combine to form helium – this gives off energy (light and heat)
• Happens in the core
www.harmsy.freeuk.com
Sun’s Atmosphere• Inner Atmosphere:
Photosphere
– Gives off visible light
– considered the sun’s surface
– What you see when you see the sun
Sun’s Atmosphere
• Middle Atmosphere: Chromosphere
– Reddish in color (color sphere)
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Sun’s Atmosphere
• Outer Atmosphere: Corona
– Can see during a total eclipse (means crown)
www.scientificamerican.com
Sun’s Atmosphere
• Can not normally see outer two atmospheres because of the glare from the photosphere
• Only see during solar eclipses
• See chromosphere at beginning and end of eclipse and corona at total eclipse
www.sciencedaily.com
Solar Wind
• Flow of electrical charged particles from the sun’s corona (can travel 900 km/sec!)
• When interact with atoms of gas in Earth’s atmosphere cause auroras
apod.nasa.gov
Sunspots – areas of cooler gas on the sun
Sunspots
•"SOHO (ESA & NASA)"
Solar Prominence – loops of gas that connect sunspot regions
Erupting Prominence 2001
Eruptive Prominance 1999
Twisting Prominence 2000
Arching Prominence
Solar Flares – explosive releases of energy due to prominences
connecting
Solar Flare
http://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) 2007
Another CME 2000
CME
•"SOHO (ESA & NASA)"
CME April 25, 2003
Why Sunspots are Darker
• Sunspots are areas of cooler gas – which give off less light – so look darker
misterzwanch.com/NASA/sunspot.gif.bmp/www.oneminuteastronomer.com
Number of Sunspots
• Varies over a period of 10-11 years
• Hypothesis: cycle may influence short term climate changes on Earth (sun gives off different amount of energy)
science.nasa.gov
Radiation Zone
• Middle layer of sun’s interior
• Has very tightly packed gas
• Energy transferred here through electromagnetic radiation.
• Energy takes 100,000 years to travel through here
members.rediff.com
Convection Zone
• Outer layer of the sun’s interior
• Hot gas rises up, cools as it rises, and then sinks back down forming loops of gas
• These loops move energy towards the sun’s surface
members.rediff.com
The Galileo Project
June 6, 1613
http://galileo.rice.edu/science.html/
June 8, 1613
http://galileo.rice.edu/science.html/
June 9, 1613
http://galileo.rice.edu/science.html/
June 10, 1613
http://galileo.rice.edu/science.html/
June 11, 1613
http://galileo.rice.edu/science.html/
June 12, 1613
http://galileo.rice.edu/science.html/
June 13, 1613
http://galileo.rice.edu/science.html/
June 14, 1613
http://galileo.rice.edu/science.html/
The Solar Center Stanford University
What did you notice in Galileo’s Drawings?
http://solar-center.stanford.edu/
Solar Center Stanford University
Sunspot Movement from SOHO
•"SOHO (ESA & NASA)" http://solar-center.stanford.edu/
Solar Center Stanford University
The sun rotates!• The sun rotates once every 27 days
• Different parts of the sun rotate at different speeds
http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/sunturn.htm
Sun pictures are from: sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
Gallery of Images
Works Cited
• Many images Courtesy of SOHO/[instrument] consortium. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA. http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
• The SOLAR Center at Stanford University http://solar-center.stanford.edu/
• The Galileo Project at Rice University http://galileo.rice.edu/science.html/
• NASA http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/sunturn.htm
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