Chapter 8 Quiz Flashcards
What is the nearest star to the Earth?
The Sun
what are Neutrinos?
Neutrinos are released in the p-p reaction chain. By determining the number of neutrinos that hit
the Earth, we get an idea of how many leave the
Sun. This gives us information about the interior
of the Sun
What are the characteristics of the Sun’s atmosphere?
- its mass is less than 1% of the sun(still more than the Earth’s mass)
- light passes through
- it has a considerable range of Temperature & Density.
What are some characteristics of the photosphere?
- it’s ~500KM thick
- most visible light “escapes” here
- Lowest level of all
Energy generated in the Sun’s center must be transported outward. Near the ___, this happens through ___
Photosphere, Convection
What is granulation?
Is the visible consequence of convection.
What are sunspots?
Regions of intense magnetic fields
What are the darkest and lightest parts of a sunspot
The Umbra and Penumbra
What is a single sunspot’s lifespan?
A sunspot can last anywhere from hours, to a month.
A large group of sunspots(up to 100) is called an ___ and may last as long as ___
Active region, two months.
What is the Zeeman Effect?
The distortion of absorption lines that appear to give them a bending effect. This is caused by magnetism.
What are some characteristics of the chromasphere?
- It is the second layer from the sun. And is the layer just above the photosphere
- Visible, UV, and X-ray lines from highly ionized gases
- Temperture increases gradually from 4500K to 10,000k then jumps to 1,000,000k
What are Spicules
flame-like jets of gas rising upward into the chromosphere(lasts 5-10 minutes).
What are Filaments?
Filaments are long dark feautures sillhouted against the Sun’s chromosphere.
What are the characteristics of Filaments?
- Filaments are related to solar activity
- The filaments are gasses held above the photosphere.
2a. They are dark because they are cooler
compared to the photosphere. - When seen from the side, these structures are known as prominences.
What are prominecnes?
Flame like structures many times the size of Earth(3) that flow from active sunspot groups comprised of ionized gas following magnetic fields. They have a velocity of around 700 - 1300 KM/sec. This gas can originate in the Corona, and fall back.
What are solar flares?
small, bright, transient patches that are sometimes visible in white light. They can produce x-rays and gamma rays, and they are associated with active regions on the Sun(Sunspots). These also push plasma into the corona.
What is the Corona?
Large extended region of the Sun’s atmosphere that can be seen during a total Solar Eclipse. Iti is in the white light spectrum containing x and gamma rays, and contains emission lines of multiple ionized atoms. Is very hot(1,000,000 degreesK).
The Sun is not rigid and as such, different parts of the Sun___
rotate at different speeds. The Poles rotate slower than the equator.
There are ___ lines on the sun that wrap around the sun as it rotates. These cause ___
magnetic, Sunspots.
The strength of the activity of the Sun waxes and wanes with a period of 11 years. As the field increases, sunspots migrate from ___
high latitudes, towards the equator.
The magnetic field of the Sun may affect the Earth’s ___
Temperture
What is Solar Wind
Escaping charged particles (+ and -)which extend past Jupiter’s orbit. They travel around 400KM/sec and are fed by the corona. They cause consequences such as Radio and telegram interference, the auroraes of upper Earth’s atmosphere near the poles, and possibly effect climactic change.
What is coronal Mass Ejection?
Massive amounts of solar wind that are released when magnetic field lines cancel out in active regions.
