Keevan Pagett

Exploring the Sun

Go to the following url: http://nineplanets.org/sol.html
1. What type of star is our Sun?
An Ordinary Star
2. How much of the mass of the solar system is contained in the Sun?
99.8%
3. What did the Greeks call the Sun? What about the Romans?
Greeks - Helos
Romans-Sol
4. What elements make up the Sun, and in what percentage?
70% Hydrogen, 28% Helium, other metals under 2%
5. Each second about 700000000 tons of hydrogen are converted to about
695000000 tons of helium.
6. What is the name of the surface of the Sun?
Photosphere
7. What is the narrow region on the Earth from which a total eclipse is visible?
Path of the sun
8. What is the solar wind?
low density charged particles
9. How has the Suns output changed over the history of the solar system?
Increased 40%
10. How much of its fuel has the Sun used up?
Half of it

Go to the following url: http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/stu/sun_main.html

1. How many Jupiters and how many Earths would fit inside the Sun?
915 Jupiters,
1,206,885 Earths
2. What was the temperature required to start fusion?
18,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit
3. When was the light that reaches Earth generated?
100,000 years ago
4. If it only takes 8 minutes for that light to reach the Earth, what took up most of
the time?
5. What happens to the brightness of the Sun when the number of sunspots is high?
It gets brighter
6. Along with the eleven-year sunspot cycle, there appear to be huge lows where

sunspot activity is extremely minimal. How often does this occur and how long
does it last?
Lasts a century every 200-300 years