The Sun
By Joanne and Satomi
Want
to
know
about
the
sun?
Around 4.57 billion years ago, a
collapse part of a giant molecular cloud
made from mostly hydrogen and
helium gave birth to out sun and many
other stars. The sun is a star in the
middle of our solar system. The surface
shoots hot gases that begin at about
6100 degrees Celsius. 99.7% of then is
made from helium and hydrogen. The
rest of the sun is made from oxygen,
carbon, neon and iron. The elements
that are part of the sun were created
during the “big bang”. It is shot
thousands of kilometres into space and
this is how we get heat. Our sun is
amazing but if you look directly at the
sun with a naked eye, you will go
blind….. DUHHH!Continue to read if you would like to
know more about the sun
Joanne
Sola
r Syst
em
In our solar system we have eight planets and 1
bright star (the sun).The centre of our solar
system is the sun, but the sun is not the centre
of our solar system, even though we consider as
the centre of our solar system. The sun takes up
around 99.8% of our solar system. The milky
way is seen as a spiral galaxy with 4 main
arms ,and several shorter segments. The
rotation of the spiral turns clockwise to the
centre. The sun and our solar system is located
closer to the Orion arm, in between the Perseus
arm and Sagittarius arm .The diameter of the
entire Milky Way is around 100,000 light years
and the sun is located around 28,000 light years
away from the galactic centre.
One orbit of the earth around the sun is
equivalent to one year. Our sun and the solar
system moves 800 thousand kilometres per
hour- in this huge orbit. In 90 seconds, we all
move 20,000 kilometres, in orbit around our
galaxy’s centre. The earth takes a year,(365
¼,365.25 or 365 days and 6 hours) to orbit the
sun completely. This is why we have a leap year.
Everything in our solar system including planets,
their moons, ,dwarf planets, asteroids, comets,
space junk and other space objects all orbit
around the sun.
Satomi
Layers
of
the s
un
The sun is made of 6 burning
layers of gas as shown in figure
1. (Subsurface flows, is not a layer)
Joanne
Figure
1
Inner core:
The inner core of the sun is like an engine for a car. It is 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (14999982ºC). Here, all its energy is produced and then goes through many layers.
Radiative zone:
The energy from the core goes to the next layer, the radiative zone of the sun. Scientists believe that this part of the sun is cooler than the core. They estimate is to be 4.5 million Fahrenheit (2499982.2ºC)
Conversion zone:
The conversion zone is the last layer of the inner parts of the sun. this layer creates big bubbles. This zone is 2 million degrees Fahrenheit (2222204.4ºC)
Photosphere:
The photosphere is the visible surface of the sun. Due to the bubbling from the previous layer (conversion zone) the photosphere makes granular patterns. From looking at pictures, the granular look small but scientist believe that they are actually as big as our moon. This layer of the sun is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5537.7778ºC)
Chromosphere:
The chromosphere is just above the photosphere. It has gigantic solar flare and loops of hot gases shooting up thousands of kilometres. This layer is about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2760ºC).
Corona:
This layer of the sun lies just above the chromosphere. We can only see this layer during a solar eclipse. This layer is leaving scientists curious because this layer is way hotter than the other layers. It is about 4 million degrees Fahrenheit (2222204.4ºC)
Worships
Many regions worshipped the sun. below, are some examples.
The Egyptians worshiped Ra.
For them, the sun was the source of life. It provided them with heat,
energy, light and warmth. He was considered to be the king of gods.
The Chinese worshiped Ten Suns.
They believed that there were actually 10 suns and they took turns lighting
each day. They believed that the suns are carried across the heavens in a
chariot that is driven by their mother and drawn by dragons.
The Japanese worshipped a sun goddess names Ama- Terasu
The Japanese believed that their country was made by the sun and came
up with the legend of Ama- Terasu. They believed in this so much they even
put a red ball on a white background. (The red ball is supposed to be the
sun)
The Greeks worshipped Apollo
Although Apollo was considered a good sun god, he was also god of many
other things sucks as music, poetry, mathematics and medicine.
Aboriginal Sun Spirit- Yhi
Yhi was the one who brought light into the dark world.
Joanne
Sola
r Energ
y
Solar energy is the cleanest
and most environmentally
friendly source of renewable energy that
generates electricity
available to help power
your home, business or
community building. In
today’s society this is one
of the cheapest options.
Solar power and also
provide us with heating and
cooling in houses, hot water
or heating water.
Joanne
Sun S
pots
Sunspots are cooler and
darker areas on the outside
layer of the sun called the
photosphere. An average
sunspot may look like a tiny
dot on the sun but it is
actually as big as our earth.
Sunspots usually last about
11 years. These sunspots also
cause weather changes. More
sunspots cause hot weather
and less sunspots cause cold
weather. The largest sunspot is about
50,000 km wide meaning that
it is able to be seen with a
naked eye. STILL!!!! Don’t
look at the sun with a naked
eye
Joanne
Sola
r
Fla
res
A solar flare is a sudden,
rapid, difference in
brightness in areas of the
sun. A solar flare occurs
when energy, built up in the
solar system that is suddenly
released. It is possible to see
radiation emitting across the
entire electromagnetic
spectrum through x-rays.
Millions of 100-megaton
hydrogen bombs exploding
at the same time is equal to
the amount of energy
released.
Particles including electrons,
protons and heavy nuclei are
heated and accelerated as
the magnetic energy is being
released. There are three
stages to a solar flare, the
first stage is the precursor
stage. This is where the
trigger of magnetic energy is
pulled. Emission I usually
detected at this stage, due
to a soft x-ray. The second
stage is the
impulsive stage. This is when
protons and electrons are
accelerated to energy , during
this stage, radio waves, hard x-
rays and gamma rays are
emitted. The third stage is the
decay stage, this is when soft
x-rays can be detected. These
stages can last up to as long
as an hour or as short as a
couple of second.
Solar flares extend out to the
next layer of the sun, the
corona. The corona is the
atmosphere at the very
surface of the sun, abiding
rarefied gas. This gas is really
high in temperature, usually
reaching 10-20 million
degrees. The corona isn’t
normally bright, but is
concentrated around the solar
equator in loop-shaper
appearance, known to be
connected with strong
magnetic fields called, active
regions. It is possible to spot a
sun spot with in these areas
but this is where solar flares
normally occur.
Satomi
Sola
r Eclip
seA solar eclipse is when the moon comes between earth and
the sun. At that time, the moon will not cover the corona.
Although it is an amazing site, you must make sure you
don’t look at it because you may get blind.
There are 3 different types of solar eclipses. This depends
on the moons shadow.
Total- when the entire sun cannot be seen as shown in figure
2.3.1
Partial- when only part of the sun’s surface cannot be seen
as shown in figure 2.3.2
Annular- only a small ring lift is seen from the suns disc as
show in figure 2.3.3
Joanne
Figure
2.3
.1
Figure
2.3
.1
Figure
2.3
.1
EA
RTH
The sun plays a big part in our daily lives, for we cannot live
without it.
Food~ We will no longer have any supply for our food. We
won’t have any plants or vegetables for plants need
sunlight to grow.
The sun won’t burn the fuel (the pollution sent to the
atmosphere)~It will lead to global warming and cause the
north pole and south poles to melt, which will lead to a rise
in tides.
We will not be able to live or survive~ Every living thing
needs water to survive and earth is the only planet to have
water without the sun. Without the sun’s heat, earth will turn
into an icy rocky planer.
Gives us a warmer place to live in and survive~ The sun
carries sunlight energy which warms up the earth, for our
weather and climate.
With out the sun there will be no life or living on planet
earth.
What does the
sun do for Satomi
The
Yohkoh
The yohkoh is a Japanese observatory which was launched on
august 31,1991.Ever since, the satellite has been sending back x-
rays and gamma rays of the sun. The satellites have two
spectroscopies. Together, these instruments send images of light
back to earth which we cannot see properly with a naked eye. The
goal of the project was to gain more knowledge about solar flares,
the study of coronal mass ejections and other types of solar
activity.
In Japan, the establishment for the Space and Astronomical
Sciences, is where the Yohkoh satellite is controlled. A power
shutdown had been experienced on the Yohkoh on December 14,
2001. This was triggered by an eclipse of the sun that covered
some parts of the Pacific Ocean that day. Efforts have been made
to repair the satellite. Even though the satellite cannot be repaired
just yet, it is considered as a great success.
The Yohkoh is a satellite which was sent to space to study and
take images of the sun. There had been an accident, a power shut
down which has not been recovered yet, but is known as a great
success.
Satomi
The
SO
HO
The SOHO stands for the Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory. The SOHO is a
project is global cooperation ESA (European
Space Agency) and NASA (National
Aeronautics and Space Administration) to
study the layers and structure of the sun, to
study the curiosity of the solar wind and
connections of the sun and earth. On
December 2, 1995, the SOHO satellite was
launched on an Atlas II-AS rocket (AC-121)
from the CCAS (the Cape Canaveral Air
Station) in Florida, United States. The
satellite was made in Europe, by a company
team, led by the Marta Marconi Space. The
pieces needed for the constructions was
provided by European and American
scientist. NASA was in control of the launch
of the satellite and is now responsible for
mission operations. Goddard Space Flight
Centre in Maryland, is the mission control.
Satomi
Pro
fileName: SOHO (Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory)
Dimensions: Approximately
4.3x2.7x3.7 metres (9.5
metres with solar arrays
deployed)Mass: 1850 Kilograms at
launchCost: About a thousand million
Euros, These costs have been
spread between ESA and its
member states and NASA
Satomi
Bib
liogra
phy
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://
www.ducksters.com/science/physics/sunspot
s_solar_wind_flares.php
http://
hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/sftheory/flare.htm
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earthguide.ucsd.edu/virtualmuseum/ita/07_
1.shtml
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www.windows2universe.org/sun/effect_on_e
arth.html
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starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_
system_level1/solar_system.html
http://
www.windows2universe.org/space_missions/
yohkoh.html
Google imagesSatomi
Bib
liogra
phy
http://web.utah.edu/astro/sun.html
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http://www.scholastic.com/browse/subarticle
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htmlhttp://www.solarschools.net/resources/stuff/
sun_gods.aspx#tensuns
http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewabl
e-energy/solar-power/
Joanne