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The Sun and It’s Domain
 Know about the Sun’s Energy
 Know about the Sun’s Core,
Atmosphere, and Sunspots
 Comprehend the Solar
System’s Structure
Lesson Overview
 The Sun’s Energy
 The Sun’s Core, Atmosphere, and Sunspots
 The Solar System’s Structure
The Sun’s Energy
 Hermann von Helmholtz
and Lord Kelvin proposed
that the source of the Sun’s
energy was a very slow
gravitational contraction
 Scientists began
considering that mass can
be converted to energy, and
energy into mass
The Nuclear Fusion Power of the Sun
 An atom’s nucleus is made up of protons, positively charged
particles; and neutrons, particles with no electrical charge
 In nuclear fusion, two nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus.
They “fuse.”
 Primary source of the Sun’s energy is a series of nuclear fusion
reactions
The Sun’s Core, Atmosphere, and Sunspots
 The equilibrium conditions in the Sun are known as
hydrostatic equilibrium
 Great pressures at the center of the Sun pushes protons close
enough together that hydrogen fusion can take place
 Fusion reactions in the core provide a heat source
The Three Modes of Solar Energy Transfer
1.
Conduction is the transfer of energy in a solid by
collisions between atoms and/or molecules
The Three Modes of Solar Energy Transfer,
2.
3.
Convection occurs when
the atoms of a warm
liquid or gas move from
one place to another
Radiation is the transfer
of energy by
electromagnetic waves
The Three Layers of the Sun’s Atmosphere
1.
2.
3.
Photosphere is the visible part of the Sun and that part
of the solar atmosphere that emits light
Chromosphere is the region between the photosphere
and the corona
Corona is the outermost portion of the Sun’s atmosphere
The Solar Wind
 Solar wind is a continuous
outflow of charged particles
from the Sun
 Moving at about 249 miles per
second near Earth, it plays a
significant role in space
weather activity
The Impact of Sunspots and Solar Flares on
Earth’s Climate
 Sunspots are dark spots appearing on the Sun’s surface caused by the Sun's
magnetic field welling up to the photosphere, the Sun's visible "surface".
 A solar flare is an explosion near or at
the Sun’s surface, seen as an increase in activity such as prominences (bulges)
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=nmDZhQAIeXM
The Solar System’s Structure
 The Sun more than 99 percent of the Solar System’s mass
 10 times larger in diameter than Jupiter
 Sun’s diameter is about 862,000 miles
How the Solar System Formed
 Evolutionary theory - how the solar system came to be as
part of a natural sequence of events
 Catastrophe theory refers to an unusual event
 Modern evolutionary theories - the formation of the Solar
System resulted from gravitational forces and pressures on
heat and mass
Classifying Objects in the Solar System
 Four innermost planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
– are called the terrestrial planets
 Next four planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune –
are called the Jovian planets
 Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet
Classifying Objects in the Solar System,
A planet is a celestial body
that:
 Orbits the Sun
 Has sufficient mass for its
self-gravity to overcome rigid
body forces so that it
assumes a nearly round
shape
 Has cleared the
neighborhood around its
orbit
Sun BINGO Challenge
B
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Catastrophe Theory
Solar Wind
Jovian Planets
Terrestrial Planets
Solar Wind
Solar Flares
Chromosphere
Modern Evolutionary
Theories
Convection
Sunspots
Conduction
Corona
FREE
SPACE
Helium
Solar Flares
Dwarf Planet
Equilibrium
Hydrogen
Hydrostatic
Equilibrium
Neutrons
Evolutionary
Theories
Radiation
Protons
Nuclear fusion
Photosphere
The Sun and It’s Domain
 Know about the Sun’s Energy
 Know about the Sun’s Core,
Atmosphere, and Sunspots
 Comprehend the Solar
System’s Structure