Download D.S.Q.:

Bell Work: turn in Friday’s
homework to the in box.
1. The sun is actually a
____ not a planet.
2. Why does Venus have
a longer day than year?
3. Can the sun have
storms? If no, why not?
If yes, how?
The Sun: Our Very Own Star
• Good Fact for Earth: The sun is close
enough to the Earth to give us light
and warmth.
• The sun is similar to most of the other
stars in our galaxy.
• It is basically a large ball of gas made
mostly of hydrogen and helium held
together by gravity.
Energy Production in the Sun
• The sun’s energy is produced by nuclear
fusion.
• Nuclear fusion is the process by which two
or more nuclei with small masses (such as
hydrogen) join together, or fuse, to form a
larger, more massive nucleus (such as
helium).
• During the process, energy is produced- a
lot of it!
Activity on the Sun’s Surface
• Sun Spots- Cooler,
darker spots on the
sun.
• This is caused by
magnetic fields on the
sun that tend to slow
down the activity in
the convective zone.
• Slow activity = cooler
areas on the sun
Activity on the Sun’s Surface
• Solar Flares- giant
storms on the surface
of the sun.
• Magnetic fields cause
these disturbances in
the solar atmosphere.
• Solar Flares have
temperatures of up to
5 million degrees
Celsius.