The Sun

The Sun lies at the heart, or center, of our Solar System. It is a fierce hot ball of gas that is nearly 900,000 miles across, it appearance is constantly changing as protrusions leap into to space and dark spots appear on its surface.

The outer atmosphere of the Sun or the corona extends for several million miles. It is made up of a very thin gas, for into a fan shape by the Suns magnetism.

Sun flares are usually explosions that occur of sunspots. And while only lasting a few minutes they can affect the Earth’s magnetic field and force violent gusts if energy into the Solar System.

Sunspots are cooler areas on the surface, which appear as dark, Faculae, clouds of glowing hydrogen lying slightly above the surface and around sunspots.

Prominences are large surges of glowing gas rising from the surface of the Sun. The largest appear as huge arches that last for several hours, before collapsing back down. These prominences also follow the magnetic force and are seen in a pinkish color when viewed during an eclipse.

The heliosphere is the invisible bubble that contains the Suns magnetic field. This shields the Solar System from some of the cosmic radiation released into space. The outer edge of the heliosphere is called the heliopause.

The Moon casts a tapered shadow in space, when it passes between the Earth and the Sun, and the tip may cross the Earth, causing an eclipse. Inside this shadow the Sun is blocked from view, and all that can be seen in the sky is the Sun’s corona. An eclipse is total only if seen from within the Moons umbra, or central shadow. Inside the penumbra, or outer shadow, the Suns disk is not completely hidden.

There are 3 different types of solar eclipses. During the “total eclipse” the Moon totally covers the Sun. This is visible from a narrow strip crossing the Earth’s surface, usually about 90 miles. Beyond this strip, a partial eclipse is seen. Only a partial eclipse is seen if the Moons “penumbra” crosses Earth instead of the “umbra”. An “annular” eclipse happens when the Moon is at its greatest distance from the Earth (called an apogee) and appears too small to cover the Sun completely.

The structure if the Sun are that light and heat is produced inside the core. This energy then flows in waves through the radioactive zone, with sufficient force to stop the vast bulk of the Sun from collapsing inward under gravity. They are weakened during this journey so when they reach the “convective” zone they can radiate no further. Instead, the waves reach the visible surface by a violent churning motion called “convection.

Most planets have a magnetosphere, inside which is stronger than the Suns. A planet’s magnetosphere is distorted by the solar wind. On the side away from the Sun, the magnetosphere stretches out to what is called a magnetotail.

The temperature at the center of the Sun is about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. The atoms here make up the main gas, hydrogen, and have so much energy that they break apart and come back together as helium, this burst of energy is what drives the Sun.