•HAS A SUN, 13+ PLANETS, 176+ SATELLITES, ABOUT 1.1 TO 1.9 MILLION ASTEROIDS, EXPONENTIAL NUMBERS OF COMETS, METEOROIDS, SPARSE GAS & DUST PARTICLES

MEMBERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

SOLAR SYSTEM

MASS DISTRIBUTION WITHIN OUR SOLAR

SYSTEM:• SUN: 99.86%• PLANETS: 0.135%• COMETS: 0.01% ?• SATELLITES: 0.00005%• MINOR PLANETS: 0.0000002% ?• METEOROIDS: 0.0000001% ?• INTERPLANETARY MEDIUM: 0.0000001% ?

MEMBERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

PROPERTIES OF THE SUN

• CONTAINS ABOUT 99.86% OF THE TOTAL MASS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM (JUPITER CONTAINS MOST OF THE REST).• IS MADE UP OF 92% HYDROGEN, 7% HELIUM AND THE REMAINDER OF VARIOUS GASES.

• THE SUN IS WHITE-COLORED, IT MAY APPEAR YELLOW BECAUSE OF ATMOSPHERIC SCATTERING OF BLUE LIGHT IN THE EARTH• G2V YELLOW DWARF STAR W/C IS THE CENTRAL & DOMINANT MEMBER, SOURCE OF LIGHT & HEAT OF ALL PLANETS AND MOONS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

PROPERTIES OF THE SUN

• DIAMETER: 864,938 MILES (1,391,980 KM)•MASS: 1.1989 X 1030 KG (333,000 TIMES EARTH’S MASS)• TEMPERATURE: 5,800 K (SURFACE), 15,600,000 K (CORE)• DISTANCE FROM EARTH: 1 AU (15,000,000 KM)

PROPERTIES OF THE SUN

• ROTATION: 27-36 EARTH DAYS• IS OF 4.57 B YRS OF AGE• THE SUN IS A NORMAL G2 STAR • IT WILL KEEP SHINING FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER 5B YEARS• IS 149.60M KMS ( 92.96M MI) AWAY• SURFACE GRAVITY: 274.0 m/s2

PROPERTIES OF THE SUN

• THE ENERGY MOVES OUT FROM THE SUN THROUGH CONVECTION• THE ENERGY COMES FROM THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS IN THE CORE• ENERGY RELEASE EQUALS TO THE DETONATION OF ABOUT 100 NUKE BOMBS PER SECOND.

ENERGY OF THE SUN

ENERGY IS CREATED IN THE CORE WHEN HYDROGEN IS FUSED TO HELIUM. THIS ENERGY FLOWS OUT FROM THE CORE BY RADIATION THROUGH THE RADIATIVE LAYER, BY CONVECTION THROUGH THE CONVECTIVE LAYER, AND BY RADIATION FROM THE SURFACE OF THE PHOTOSPHERE, WHICH IS THE PORTION OF THE SUN WE SEE.

• THE SUN MUST EXPEND LARGE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY TO ENDURE ITS OWN GRAVITATIONAL DESIRE TO COLLAPSE.• THE CORE OF THE SUN IS WHERE ENERGY IS FIRST FORMED WITH A TEMPERATURE OF 27 MILLION DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

• THE ENERGY MOVES OUT FROM THE CORE THROUGH THE RADIATIVE ZONE. SCIENTISTS CALCULATE THE TEMPERATURE TO BE COOLER THAN THE CORE—IT IS ONLY A 4.5 MILLION DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.• THE SUN’S NEXT LAYER IS THE CONVECTION ZONE.

• CONVECTION IS HOW ENERGY MOVES FROM THE INNER PARTS OF THE SUN TO THE OUTER PART OF THE SUN THAT WE SEE.• JUST ABOVE THE PHOTOSPHERE IS THE CHROMOSPHERE WITH HUGE SOLAR FLARES AND LOOPS OF HOT GASES SHOOTING UP THOUSANDS OF MILES. THINGS BEGIN TO HEAT UP AGAIN HERE—UP TO 50,000 DEGREES F

• ABOVE THE CHROMOSPHERE IS THE CORONA—VISIBLE DURING A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE. THE CORONA 4 MILLION DEGREES F. IT IS ALSO VERY THIN. SOMETIMES, SOLAR WIND STREAM AWAY IN ALL DIRECTION FROM THE SUN AND CAN MOVE UP TO 1 MILLION MILES PER HOUR.

• SOLAR FLARES OUTBURSTS AS THE SUN’S MAGNETIC FIELDS TWIST, TEAR AND RECONNECT. CORONAL LOOPS ARE MAGNETIC LOOPS WITH STRONG MAGNETIC FIELDS.• GIANT ARCHES OF GAS THAT ERUPT ON THE SUN ARE CALLED PROMINENCES THAT CAN LAST FOR SEVERAL DAYS.

• CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS HAVE THE MOST ENERGY OF ALL THESE SOLAR EVENTS. SOMETIMES THEY HEAD TOWARD THE EARTH WHERE THEY CAN CAUSE COMMUNICATIONS DISRUPTIONS AND DAMAGE SATELLITES. EARTH HAS A PROTECTIVE & POWERFUL MAGNETIC SHIELD AROUND IT WHICH PROTECTS US FROM GETTING TOO MUCH ENERGY.

• THE CORE THAT’S MADE UP OF CRUSHED MATTER MUST BE HOT OF AT LEAST 60 MILLION DEGREES CELSIUS• SUN PRODUCE ENERGY BY NUCLEAR REACTIONS WHERE LIGHTER ATOMS FUSE TOGETHER TO FORM HEAVIER ONES

HOW THE SUN CONVERTS MATTER INTO ENERGY??

• THERMONUCLEAR REACTION –SEEMS TO BE THE SUN’S SECRET ON ENERGY PRODUCTION; THE FUSION OF ATOMIC NUCLEI UNDER HIGH TEMPERATURES• THE SUN’S MAIN PARTS: ITS CORE, PHOTOSPHERE, CHROMOSPHERE, CORONA

•ENERGY FROM THE SUN, IN THE FORM OF SUNLIGHT AND HEAT, SUPPORTS ALMOST ALL LIFE ON EARTH VIA PHOTOSYNTHESIS, AND DRIVES THE EARTH'S CLIMATE AND WEATHER.

REGIONS OF THE SUN

 1. CORE 2. RADIATIVE ZONE 3. CONVECTION ZONE 4. PHOTOSPHERE 5. CHROMOSPHERE

 6. CORONA 7. SUNSPOTS 8. GRANULES 9. PROMINENCE

• IS WHERE THE NUCLEAR FUSION OF HYDROGEN (H) & HELIUM (He) TAKES PLACE• THE SOURCE OF THE SUN’S & EARTH’S ENERGY•HAS TEMPERATURE ABOVE 15M KELVIN

SUN’S CORE

•  THE HOTTEST PART OF THE SUN AND OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, HAS .3 SOLAR RADIUS• IS MADE OF HOT, DENSE GAS IN THE PLASMIC STATE•GENERATES 99% OF THE FUSION POWER OF THE SUN

SUN’S CORE

• EACH GAMMA RAY IN THE SUN'S CORE IS CONVERTED INTO SEVERAL MILLION VISIBLE LIGHT PHOTONS BEFORE ESCAPING INTO SPACE• 3.6×1038 PROTONS (H NUCLEI) ARE CONVERTED INTO He NUCLEI PER SECOND, RELEASING MASS & ENERGY OF 4.3 MILLION TONNES PER SECOND,380 YOTTAWATTS  (3.8×1026 WATTS), EQUIVALENT TO 9.1×1010 MEGATONS OF TNT/Sec

•  LOCATED BETWEEN THE SOLAR CORE AND THE  CONVECTION ZONE• TRANSPORTS SOLAR ENERGY TOWARD THE SUN’S EXTERIOR BY MEANS OF RADIATIVE DIFFUSION•  ENERGY TRAVELS THROUGH THE RADIATION ZONE IN THE FORM OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION

RADIATIVE ZONE

CONVECTION ZONE• ENERGY IS TRANSPORTED

PRIMARILY BY CONVECTION• CONVECTION IS THE CONCERTED,

COLLECTIVE MOVEMENT OF ENSEMBLES OF MOLECULES WITHIN FLUIDS 

•  IN THERMODYNAMICS "CONVECTION" OFTEN REFERS TO HEAT TRANSFER BY CONVECTION

•  PHOTOS  -"LIGHT" AND SPHAIRA - "SPHERE” • PERCEIVED TO EMIT LIGHT• SUN'S PHOTOSPHERE HAS A

TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 4500 AND 6000 K (ABOUT 5,800 K)• INNERMOST SOLAR

ATMOSPHERE• HAS GRANULES—CELLS OF GAS

EACH ABOUT 1,000 KM IN DIAMETER

PHOTOSPHERE

• LITERALLY, "SPHERE OF COLOR“,  IS ROUGHLY 2,000 KILOMETERS DEEP. IT SITS JUST ABOVE THE PHOTOSPHERE AND BELOW THE CORONA

•  CAN ONLY BE SEEN DURING A TOTAL ECLIPSE, WHERE ITS REDDISH COLOR IS REVEALED

• A WAVELENGTH OF 656.3 NM IS IN THE RED PART OF THE SPECTRUM, WHICH CAUSES THE CHROMOSPHERE TO HAVE ITS CHARACTERISTIC REDDISH COLOR

CHROMOSPHERE

 PHENOMENA OBSERVED IN THE CHROMOSOPHERE• FILAMENTS AND PROMINENCES• FILAMENTS ARE LARGE REGIONS OF VERY DENSE, COOL GAS, HELD IN PLACE BY MAGNETIC FIELDS. THEY USUALLY APPEAR LONG AND THIN ABOVE THE CHROMOSPHERE• DARK-COLORED BECAUSE THEY’RE COOLER THAN THEIR SURROUNDINGS

• FILAMENTS (DARK-COLORED) APPEAR ON THE “EDGE” OF THE SUN, BRIGHTER THAN THE DARK OUTER SPACE BEHIND THEM. IN THAT CASE WE CALL THEM PROMINENCES• FILAMENTS AND PROMINENCES ARE JUST THE SAME THING• FILAMENTS LAST FOR A FEW WEEKS OR MONTHS

• SPICULE -A DYNAMIC JET OF ABOUT 500 KM DIAMETER IN THE CHROMOSPHERE OF THE SUN. • ARE LONG THIN FINGERS OF LUMINOUS GAS WHICH APPEAR LIKE THE BLADES OF A HUGE FIELD OF FIERY GRASS GROWING UPWARDS FROM THE PHOTOSPHERE BELOW

• OUTERMOST REGION OF THE SUN’S ATMOSPHERE, CONSISTING OF PLASMA (HOT IONIZED GAS)• HAS A TEMPERATURE OF

APPROXIMATELY TWO MILLION KELVIN AND AN EXTREMELY LOW DENSITY• ITS SIZE & SHAPE IS AFFECTED

BY THE SUN’S MAGNETIC FIELD

CORONA

• SOLAR WIND, WHICH FLOWS RADIALLY OUTWARD THROUGH THE ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM, IS FORMED IN THE CORONA. IT EXPANDS FROM THE SUN TO THE END OF THE HELIOPAUSE

• HELIOPAUSE- BOUNDARY OF THE HELIOSPHERE, THE SPHERICAL REGION AROUND THE SUN THAT IS FILLED WITH SOLAR MAGNETIC FIELDS

• THE TAIL OF THE HELIOPAUSE IS ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 110 AND 170 ASTRONOMICAL UNITS

• A FLOW OF CHARGED PARTICLES FROM THE SUN (THE SOLAR WIND) PERMEATES THE SOLAR SYSTEM. THIS CREATES A BUBBLE IN THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM KNOWN AS THE HELIOSPHERE, WHICH TERMINATES AT THE HELIOPAUSE, NEAR THE SCATTERED DISC.

• ARE DARK, PLANET-SIZED REGIONS THAT APPEAR ON THE "SURFACE" OF THE SUN. A LARGE SUNSPOT MIGHT HAVE A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 4,000 K (ABOUT 3,700° C OR 6,700° F). THIS IS MUCH LOWER THAN THE 5,800 K (ABOUT 5,500° C OR 10,000° F) TEMPERATURE OF THE BRIGHT PHOTOSPHERE THAT SURROUNDS THE SUNSPOTS

SUNSPOTS

• SUNSPOTS ARE CAUSED BY THE SUN'S MAGNETIC FIELD W/C PRODUCE “SOLAR STORMS” LIKE SOLAR FLARES AND CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS (CMES)• HISTORICAL RECORDS OF SUNSPOT COUNTS SHOW THAT SUNSPOT CYCLE HAS AN AVERAGE PERIOD OF ABOUT ELEVEN YEARS.

• GRANULES ON THE PHOTOSPHERE OF THE SUN ARE CAUSED BY CONVECTION CURRENTS• A TYPICAL GRANULE HAS A DIAMETER ON THE ORDER OF 1,000 KILOMETERS AND LASTS 8 TO 20 MINS BEFORE DISSIPATING

GRANULES

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE SUN

• 60 EARTH ELEMENTS ARE DETECTED IN THE SOLAR SPECTRUM• THE SUN IS MOSTLY MADE UP OF HYDROGEN AND HELIUM

PHENOMENA OF THE SOLAR ATMOSPHERE

• ARE ASSOCIATED W/ RADIO FADE-OUT, MAGNETIC STORMS & POLAR AURORAS

1)SUNSPOTS -ARE AS HOT AS 3,700 K

• HAS TWO PARTS – THE DARK CENTRAL UMBRA & THE LIGHTER SURROUNDING AREA CALLED PENUMBRA. VARIATIONS IN THE NO. OF SUNSPOTS WAS DISCOVERED BY SAMUEL HEINRICH SCHWABE

SUNSPOTS APPEAR AS DARK SPOTS ON THE SURFACE OF THE SUN. THEY TYPICALLY LAST FOR SEVERAL DAYS, ALTHOUGH VERY LARGE ONES MAY LIVE FOR SEVERAL WEEKS.

2) SOLAR PROMINENCES•BILLOWING ARCHES OF HOT GASES STREAMING FROM A SUNSPOT GROUP TO ANOTHER•CAN GROW HIGH ABOUT 1 MILLION KILOMETERS ABOVE THE PHOTOSPHERE

• THEY MAY BE QUIESCENT (REMAINS MOTIONLESS FOR SEVERAL HRS THAT CAN GROW TO THOUSANDS OF KM ABOVE SOLAR SURFACE) OR ERUPTIVE (RARE & VERY ACTIVE, HAS SPEEDS OF UP TO 720KM/SEC AND COULD GROW ABOUT A MILLION KM)

3) SOLAR FLARES• THE MOST VIOLENT SOLAR PHENOMENA• SUDDEN PHOTOSPHERIC ERUPTIONS EJECTING FOUNTAINS OF VERY HOT GASES OF MORE THAN 1,600,000 KM OUT INTO THE SPACE• ALWAYS OCCUR IN THE ERUPTIVE SUNSPOTS

• THEY EMIT ELECTRICALLY CHARGED PARTICLES TRAPPED IN THE EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD TO FORM THE VAN ALLEN RADIATION BELTS, GASES GO EXCITED AND EMITS AURORA BOREALIS (NORTHERN HEMISPHERE) OR AURORA AUSTRALIS (SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE)• SOLAR FLARES CAUSE RADIO

DISTURBANCES ON EARTH AMIDST INCREASED UV RADIATION

4) PLAGES• ARE BRIGHT REGIONS IN THE CHROMOSPHERE OF THE SUN, TYPICALLY FOUND IN REGIONS OF THE CHROMOSPHERE NEAR SUNSPOTS• SUNSPOTS GO BEFORE A PLAGE IN THE SUN’S HIGH MAGNETIC FIELD REGION

5) SPICULES -A DYNAMIC JET OF ABOUT 500 KM DIAMETER IN THE CHROMOSPHERE OF THE SUN• LASTS FOR ONLY FEW MINUTES • ARE LONG THIN FINGERS OF LUMINOUS GAS WHICH APPEAR LIKE THE BLADES OF A HUGE FIELD OF FIERY GRASS GROWING UPWARDS FROM THE PHOTOSPHERE BELOW

6) PHOTOSPHERIC GRANULATIONS• DUE TO THE CONVECTION OPERATING BELOW THE PHOTOSPHERE. CONVECTION PRODUCES COLUMNS OF RISING GAS JUST BELOW THE PHOTOSPHERE THAT ARE ABOUT 700 TO 1000 KM IN DIAMETER.

7) SOLAR MAGNETIC FIELDS• THE ELECTRIC CURRENTS IN

THE SUN GENERATE A COMPLEX MAGNETIC FIELD WITH EXTENDS OUT INTO INTERPLANETARY SPACE TO FORM THE INTERPLANETARY MAGNETIC FIELD. AS THE SUN'S MAGNETIC FIELD IS CARRIED OUT THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM BY THE SOLAR WIND• THE SUN HAS A VERY LARGE

AND VERY COMPLEX MAGNETIC FIELD

THE SUN'S CORONA IS THREADED WITH A COMPLEX NETWORK OF MAGNETIC FIELDS. SOLAR STORMS AND FLARES RESULT FROM CHANGES IN THE STRUCTURE AND CONNECTIONS OF THESE FIELDS.

SUN’S MAGNETIC FIELD