The Sun in our Solar System – One that we take for granted.

by Erwyn van der Meer
The Sun in our Solar System – One that we take for granted.
Article by Michelle

The Sun in our Solar System – One that we take for granted. - Food - Beverages












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This article is from my website under Interesting Tidbits:The Sun in our Solar SystemThe Sun in our Solar System - One that we take for granted.The Sun is the centre of our solar system and is possibly the body from which Earth and all the other planets originated. It is the only important source of light and heat for the Earth, and it controls all forms of life. It is nevertheless, a comparatively unimportant star situated in the Milky Way and about 27,000 light years distant from the centre of the Galaxy (1 light year is 5.88 million million miles). The Sun consists of a sphere of gas which has a visible diameter of 864,000 miles, heated by thermonuclear reactions in its interior. It is supposed that the temperature near the centre of the Sun may be 14,000,000 degrees K, and on the surface the temperature is about 6,000 degrees k. (In astronomical work temperature is measured on the Kelvin Scale, which begins at absolute zero. A temperature in degrees Kelvin is equal to the temperature in Centigrade plus 273 degrees.)The Structure of the Sun's atmosphereThe main body of the Sun is opaque and has a well defined visible surface or 'skin', known as the photosphere. This is the source of practically all the light and heat radiated by the body. Extending outwards from the photosphere for a distance of about 6,000 miles is the chromosphere. This is a layer of transparent gases which are in continuous movement; it looks rather like a prairie fire. Above the chromosphere and extending to enormous distances is another transparent gaseous zone called the corona. The Earth itself lies in the solar corona. Neither the chromosphere nor the corona is normally visible. They can be seen with the aid of certain kinds of optical equipment attached to astronomical telescopes. The only time that they can be seen without these aids is during a total solar eclipse, when the body of the moon covers the photosphere and therefore obscures the brighter light radiated from it. By comparison the light radiated from the outer parts is equivalent to the brightness of moonlight.The photosphere, chromosphere, and corona constitute the solar atmosphere and are the only parts of the Sun which can be observed. They all have a similar chemical composition and it seems that the composition of the Sun's interior differs little from that of its atmosphere. Although the three zones are permanent features, the boundaries between them are never clearly defined, and they are always changing internally. The most important changes are collectively called solar activity and include sunspots (dark spots) and faculae (bright spots) in the photosphere, flares, flocculi, and spicules

Total Solar Eclipse | Solar Eclipse Information