The Sun is our home star. It is a huge sphere of hydrogen and helium gas almost one and one half million km in diameter. It is a fairly typical star, about average in all respects. The visible surface of the Sun shows indications of massive storms which release energy into space and toward the Earth. We have a spacecraft called SOHO that regularly monitors the Sun's activity.
The surface and interior show signs of oscillation, or ringing. The GONG group has been studying this effect for some time now. At the very core of the Sun the temperature is 14 million Kelvin. It is here where thermonuclear fusion takes place.
The Solar Atmosphere
In our study of the Sun, special emphasis is placed on the features visible in the atmosphere of the Sun.
- The first layer of the Sun we will study is the source of virtually all of the sunlight we receive. It is called the photosphere.
- The next layer of the atmosphere of the Sun is the chromosphere.
- Above the chromosphere the temperature rises rapidly through the transition zone, rising from about 6000 K. to almost one million K. It is here that we find the corona
Here is a great page of images of the solar atmosphere.
For daily images of the Sun check out this page. The Sun is now begining to show more activity and has recently shown some very large spots on its surface. And here are a series of movies of the Sun.
Here is today's white light image of sunspots.
And here is another from Big Bear Solar Observatory.
Here are the images you need for the the Solar Rotation lab.
If you have some time, why not take a virtual tour of the Sun?
Here is a useful Power Point presentation on the Sun
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Updated February 25, 2011