Lecture Note: 3

SUN:
OUR OWN STAR

Dr. Himadri Sekhar Das

Dept. of Physics
Assam University, Silchar (INDIA)
 The Sun is the most prominent feature in
our solar system.

 It is the largest object and contains

approximately 98% of the total solar
system mass.

 One hundred and nine Earths would be

required to fit across the Sun's disk, and
its interior could hold over 1.3 million
Earths !!!
Sun Statistics :
 Mass (kg) = 1.989e+30
 Mass (Earth = 1) = 332,830
 Equatorial radius (km) = 695,000
 Equatorial radius (Earth = 1)= 108.97
 Mean density (gm/cm^3) = 1.410
 Rotational period (days) = 25-36*
 Escape velocity (km/sec) = 618.02
 Luminosity (ergs/sec) = 3.827e33
 Magnitude (Vo) = - 26.8
 Mean surface temperature = 6,000°C
 Age (billion years) = 4.5

* The Sun's period of rotation at the surface varies from approximately 25

days at the equator to 36 days at the poles. Deep down, below the
convective zone, everything appears to rotate with a period of 27 days.
Principal chemistry:
Hydrogen = 92.1%
Helium = 7.8%
Oxygen = 0.061%
Carbon = 0.030%
Nitrogen = 0.0084%
Neon = 0.0076%
Iron = 0.0037%
Silicon = 0.0031%
Magnesium = 0.0024%
Sulfur = 0.0015%
All others = 0.0015%
 The Sun's Interior:
 The Sun's interior consists of
several regions.
 The core is at the center, and is
the site for the nuclear fusion .
This is the location of the energy
generation.
 The energy escapes through the
radiative zone, which we do not
see, and
 the convective zone, which we do
see at the surface of the Sun (the
photosphere). The granules that
give the Sun's photosphere a
granular appearance are really
the tops of convective cells that
are trying to transport the energy
from the Sun's interior outward.
 How can we study the
interior of the Sun if we
cannot see very far down
into it?

 We can study the surface by

studying the granulation.

 We can also study the interior

with a concept known as
helioseismology.

 Studying the pulsations of the

Sun gives us information about
the interior structure and the
boundaries of the various
layers.
The Sun's Atmosphere:
The lowest part of the
Sun's atmosphere is
known as the
photosphere. It is the
densest part of the
Sun's atmosphere, so
this is what we see. It
is one of the coolest
parts of the Sun, with
a temperature of only
6,000 K.
 Above the Sun's
photosphere is the
chromosphere ("chromo-"
means color).

 This is a thin layer (only

2,500 km thick, compared
to the Sun's diameter of
1.39 x 106 km), which is
pinkish in color due to the
hydrogen gas that emits
light in that color.

 It is normally not visible

because of the
overwhelming brightness
of the photosphere, but the
chromosphere can be seen
during a total solar eclipse.
  The outermost region
of the Sun's
atmosphere is the
corona, ("crown"),
1991 Solar Eclipse which is quite thin but
contains very hot gas.

 Like the chromosphere,

the corona is best
studied during solar
eclipses (real or
artificial).
The temperature of the corona reaches
millions of degrees.
A coronal loop is
an arch of
extremely hot gas
seen in the
corona. Its shape
results from the
Sun's strong
magnetic field,
which forms
loops.
Solar Activity:

One of most
obvious sign of
activity on the
Sun is sunspots,
which are regions
of gas that are
cooler than their
surroundings
(this is why they
are darker relative
to their
surroundings).
 Sunspots have
lifetimes of a few
hours to a few
months, and they
often are found in
groups.

 They can grow to

be many times
larger than the size
of the Earth.
Sunspots were
used by earlier
astronomers to
measure the
Sun's rotation
rate; by tracking
the sunspots as
they move
across the disk
of the Sun, the
rotation rate can
be measured.
 The number of sunspots varies over an
11-year cycle. The cause for this
cyclical variation is still not
understood.
Butterfly diagram
 The number of sunspots is directly related to the amount
of solar activity that is taking place at any given time. The
amount of solar activity can be determined by looking at a
magnetogram, which shows regions where the magnetic
field is enhanced (either strongly positive or strongly
negative).
 Another form of
solar activity is
a solar flare.
These are short-
lived, sudden
increases in
brightness that
occur near
sunspots and
release a
tremendous
amount of
energy.
 A solar prominence is
another form of
eruptive activity, which
can reach high into the
corona.

 Prominences are huge

clouds of relatively
cool dense plasma
suspended in the
Sun's hot, thin corona.
At times, they can
erupt, escaping the
Sun's atmosphere.
Image courtesy of NASA/ESA. The white lines represent
the solar wind, the blue lines represent the Earth's
magnetosphere, and the purple line is the bow shock (the
interface between the two).
 Sun Prominence:
Views of the Sun
This image was acquired from
NASA's Skylab space station on
December 19, 1973. It shows one of
the most spectacular solar flares
ever recorded, propelled by magnetic
forces, lifting off from the Sun. It
spans more than 588,000 km
(365,000 miles) of the solar surface.
In this photograph, the solar poles
are distinguished by a relative
absence of supergranulation
network, and a much darker tone
than the central portions of the disk.
(Courtesy NASA)
Views of the Sun Eclipse From STEREO Spacecraft

 This is a frame from the

Feb. 25, 2007 movie of the transit of the
Moon across the face of the Sun. This
sight was visible only from the STEREO-
B spacecraft in its orbit about the sun,
trailing behind the Earth.

 NASA's STEREO mission consists of two

spacecraft launched in October, 2006 to
study solar storms. STEREO-B is
currently about 1 million miles from the
Earth, 4.4 times farther away from the
Moon than we are on Earth. As the result,
the Moon appeared 4.4 times smaller
than what we are used to. This is still,
however, much larger than, say, the
planet Venus appeared when it transited
the Sun as seen from Earth in 2004.
(Courtesy NASA)
 A New Look at the Sun
Views of the Sun  This image of 1,500,000°C gas
in the Sun's thin, outer
atmosphere (corona) was taken
March 13, 1996 by the Extreme
Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope
onboard the Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory
(SOHO) spacecraft.

 Every feature in the image

traces magnetic field structures.
Because of the high quality
instrument, more of the subtle
and detail magnetic features
can be seen than ever before.
(Courtesy ESA/NASA)
SOHO image courtesy of NASA/ESA.
Views of the Sun X-Ray Image

This is an X-ray image of the

Sun obtained on February 21,
1994. The brighter regions are
sources of increased X-ray
emissions.
Finally, we can put
this all together
into a single image
to remind
ourselves of the
various aspects of
the Sun.
No more today !!!

Thank You All