The Sun Flashcards
What is the diameter of the Sun?
1.4 million km
What is the distance of the Sun from Earth?
150 million km
What is the temperature of the Sun’s photosphere (surface)?
5800K
What are the different parts of the solar atmosphere?
The chromosphere and the corona.
What is the approximate temperature of the corona?
2 million K
What is the Sun’s energy generated by?
Nuclear fusion reactions at the Suns core, converting hydrogen into helium.
What is the Suns rotational period at the equator? What is it at the Pole?
Equator - 25 days
Pole - 36 days
How do astronomers observe the Sun at at the H-Alpha wavelength?
Using an H-Alpha filter and observing emission spectra of hydrogen.
What are the different parts of sunspots?
Umbra (the centre) and penumbra (the outer part of the spots)
About how large are sunspots?
About 10,000 km across.
Outline some aspects of sunspots.
- Cooler regions
- Last 2-4 weeks
- Come in pairs
- Have strong magnetic fields
What is the butterfly diagram?
A diagram which shows the long-term latitude drift of sun spots, and can be used to determine the length of the solar cycle.
What is the solar wind?
A continuous stream of protons and electrons from the surface of the sun.
What three things can sun spots cause?
- Prominences
- Solar Flares
- Coronal Mass Ejections (CME)