Download The Sun and Space Objects

THE SUN
The sun consists largely of hydrogen gas. Its
energy comes from nuclear fusion of
hydrogen to helium.
The Sun is hot. Really
really hot. But all of the
heat and light coming
from the Sun comes
from the fusion process
happening deep inside
the core of the Sun
where pressures are
million of times more
than the surface of the
Earth, and the
temperature reaches
more than 15 million
Kelvin.
The earth is tilted 23½ º
24 hour daylight
and
24 hour darkness
WHAT CAUSES SEASONS?
Earth’s tilt causes seasons
Earth revolves around the sun tilted on its axis. The angle at
which the sun’s rays strike each part of Earth’s surface
changes as Earth moves through its orbit.
SOLSTICES
1. Summer Solstice---sun shines the longest on this
day…occurs June 22 in the northern hemisphere
2. Winter Solstice---shortest amount of sunlight on this
day…occurs December 22 in the northern hemisphere
SUMMER
WINTER
EQUINOXES
12 hours of daylight and
12 hours of darkness on
equinox days
1. Spring equinox occurs
on March 21st in the
northern hemisphere
2. Fall equinox occurs
on September 21st in the
northern hemisphere
THE SUN
•The largest object in the solar system, in both
size and mass
•Contains 99% of all the mass in the solar
system…made up of hydrogen and helium
•109 Earths lined up edge to edge to fit
across the Sun
•Nothing “solid” about the sun… its interior is
plasma —the 4th state of matter…solid, liquid,
gas, plasma (ionized gas)
Layers of the Sun
1. Photosphere is the visible
surface of the Sun
2. Chromosphere is only visible
during a solar eclipse or with
special filters…appears as a
red circle around the sun
during the eclipse
3. Corona is only visible during a solar eclipse or with
special filters…appears as white glow that extends
several million miles into space
The Sun’s
Activity
1. Solar Wind is an
energized gas that
flows out from the
corona at high
speeds. The solar
wind is deflected by
the earth’s magnetic
field, however this is
what causes the
northern and
southern lights.
2. Sunspots are cooler areas on the photosphere that
last for about 2 months
3. Solar Flares are violent eruptions or solar particles and
radiation
4. Prominences are an arc of gas that is ejected from the
chromosphere and rains back to the surface
SOLAR FLARE
SOLAR PROMINENCE
Sunspots
Flare
Prominence
Solar Wind
Comets: orbit the sun and consist mostly of frozen gases
which vaporize in sunlight forming an atmosphere and
sometimes a tail—the tail always points away from the sun.
A meteoroid is debris located outside of Earth’s atmosphere
that orbits the sun.
•A meteor is debris located within Earth’s atmosphere that
vaporizes…known as a shooting star.
•A meteorite is a meteoroid that survives its passage through
Earth’s atmosphere and hits Earth’s surface.
Asteroids are usually leftover debris of the formation of
the solar system. They orbit the sun between Mars and
Jupiter in the asteroid belt which separates the 2 types
of planets.
AMAZING EARTH SCIENCE FACTS
Summer Solstice is June 21st (longest day).
1. ____________
Winter
2. ____________
Solstice is December 21st (shortest day)
Equinoxes occur when the sun is directly over the
3. ____________
equator….Spring is March 21st and Fall is September
22nd. (12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night)
4. The sun is a star that is made up of the 2 gases
hydrogen and ________.
helium
___________
AU is the distance from the sun to the
5. One _____
earth…93 million miles.