Q)Discuss the salient aspects of structure of sun and the various activities going on in it.
Ans)The Sun is the most important star from our point of view. It is the only star close enough to be studied in considerable detail. The grandeur of the Sun is partly because of its size. Its diameter is almost 110 times the size of the Earth.
Although the Sun appears to be unchanging, it rotates about its axis every 25 days.From time to time dark patches appear on the surface of the Sun, usually in pairs or in groups.These dark patches are called sunspots.Their movement is an indication of the sun's rotation. A sunspot is a region on the surface of the Sun that consists of gasses almost thousand degrees cooler than those surrounding the area. The number of sunspots increases and decreases in a cycle every 11 years. In the long term, there are period of low number of sunspots and high number of sunspots.
Layers of the Sun
The Sun's body is made up of several layers.The layer that forms the visible surface of the sun is called the photo sphere - it is the surface that demarcates the body of the sun and its atmosphere. When we talk of the diameter of the sun, we are referring to the diameter of the photo-sphere.The temperature of the photo-sphere is about 6000 Celsius. The innermost layer of the sun is its core where its energy is produced through nuclear reactions. Like the sun's body, the solar atmosphere too has several layers.The outermost later of the sun's atmosphere is called corona. Normally the corona cannot be seen due to the brilliance of the photo-sphere.However if it is seen during a total solar eclipse, it is visible in its full glory.The corona extends all the way up to the Earth's orbit and beyond.
Solar Wind and Solar Flare
Most of the sun's family is continually bathed in an outflow of sun's material from it's atmosphere. Streams of electrons and protons flow out from the Sun's atmosphere and travel across the solar system.This rapidly moving stream of charged particles is called the Solar Wind. About one million ton material is removed every second from the sun in the form of the solar wind. These charged particles react with the earth's particles to produce northern lights, 'aurora borealis' at the North Pole and southern lights, 'aurora australis' at south pole. This display of lights in nature is truly spectacular.
The solar flare represents the most dynamic activity associated with the sun's surface and atmosphere. It represents a tremendous release of energy in a very short time.Usually it occurs in the neighborhood. of a sunspot. There is a sudden brightening accompanied by a violent in the form of light, radiowaves, X-rays, and solar materials like electrons and protons.
Ans)The Sun is the most important star from our point of view. It is the only star close enough to be studied in considerable detail. The grandeur of the Sun is partly because of its size. Its diameter is almost 110 times the size of the Earth.
Although the Sun appears to be unchanging, it rotates about its axis every 25 days.From time to time dark patches appear on the surface of the Sun, usually in pairs or in groups.These dark patches are called sunspots.Their movement is an indication of the sun's rotation. A sunspot is a region on the surface of the Sun that consists of gasses almost thousand degrees cooler than those surrounding the area. The number of sunspots increases and decreases in a cycle every 11 years. In the long term, there are period of low number of sunspots and high number of sunspots.
Layers of the Sun
The Sun's body is made up of several layers.The layer that forms the visible surface of the sun is called the photo sphere - it is the surface that demarcates the body of the sun and its atmosphere. When we talk of the diameter of the sun, we are referring to the diameter of the photo-sphere.The temperature of the photo-sphere is about 6000 Celsius. The innermost layer of the sun is its core where its energy is produced through nuclear reactions. Like the sun's body, the solar atmosphere too has several layers.The outermost later of the sun's atmosphere is called corona. Normally the corona cannot be seen due to the brilliance of the photo-sphere.However if it is seen during a total solar eclipse, it is visible in its full glory.The corona extends all the way up to the Earth's orbit and beyond.
Solar Wind and Solar Flare
Most of the sun's family is continually bathed in an outflow of sun's material from it's atmosphere. Streams of electrons and protons flow out from the Sun's atmosphere and travel across the solar system.This rapidly moving stream of charged particles is called the Solar Wind. About one million ton material is removed every second from the sun in the form of the solar wind. These charged particles react with the earth's particles to produce northern lights, 'aurora borealis' at the North Pole and southern lights, 'aurora australis' at south pole. This display of lights in nature is truly spectacular.
The solar flare represents the most dynamic activity associated with the sun's surface and atmosphere. It represents a tremendous release of energy in a very short time.Usually it occurs in the neighborhood. of a sunspot. There is a sudden brightening accompanied by a violent in the form of light, radiowaves, X-rays, and solar materials like electrons and protons.
