Warm Up

1) A refracting telescope produces an image using a(n)

____.
a. spectroscope c. mirror
b. prism d. objective lens
2) A reflecting telescope produces an image using a(n)
____.
a. lens c. prism
b. antenna d. concave mirror
3) Which property of an optical telescope is associated
with sharper images?
a. light-gathering power c. magnifying power
b. resolving power d. chromatic aberration
Answers: 1) d. 2) d. 3) b.
 The Sun

Chapter 24, Section 3

Sun Facts
• An “Average” Star
• Diameter = 109 x Earth
• Volume = 1.25 x Earth
• Mass = 332,000 x Earth
• Density = ¼ x Earth
Structure of the Sun

• The sun is made of gas, no sharp

boundaries exist
• We can divide the sun into four parts: the
solar interior; the visible surface, or
photosphere; and two atmospheric layers,
the chromosphere and corona
• The interior makes up all but a tiny
fraction of the sun’s mass
Solar Structure
Concept Check

• What is the structure of the sun?

• The solar interior, the photosphere, the
chromosphere, and the corona
Photosphere
• Photosphere – radiates most of the light we
see and can be thought of as the visible
“surface” of the sun
• The photosphere consists of a layer of gas less
than 500 km thick
• It has a grainy texture resulting from numerous
relatively small (the size of Texas), bright
markings called granules
• They owe their brightness to hotter gases rising
from the interior, it spreads and cools,
eventually sinking back into the interior
• The combined motion of the hotter material
replacing the cooler material is called
convection
Photosphere
Chromosphere

• Chromosphere – A relatively thin layer

of hot gases a few km thick above the
photosphere
• Only observable for a few moments during
a total solar eclipse or with special
instruments that block out the light from
the photosphere
Chromosphere
Corona and Solar Wind
• Corona – outer most portion of the solar
atmosphere, very weak and is visible only when
the photosphere is covered
• Envelope of ionized gases normally extend
millions of kilometers from the sun
• Solar Wind – Streams of protons and electrons
that boil from the corona
• The wind travels outward through the solar
system at speeds up to 800 km/s
• During this journey, the solar wind interacts with
different bodies in the solar system, including
our Earth’s magnetosphere
Corona and Solar Wind
Concept Check

• Which layer of the sun can be thought of

as its surface?
• The photosphere
Sunspots
• Sunspots – dark regions on the surface of the
photosphere, an individual spot contains a black
center rimmed by a lighter region
• Sunspots appear dark because of their
temperature, about 1500 K less than that of the
surrounding solar surface
• During the 1800s, people believed that a tiny
planet named Vulcan was orbiting between
Mercury and the Sun
• The number of sunspots varies on an 11-year
cycle
Sunspots
Mean Annual Sunspot Numbers
Concept Check

• Are the same number of sunspots always

present on the sun? Explain.
• No, because the number of sunspots
varies in an 11-year cycle.
Prominences

• Prominences – huge cloudlike structures

consisting of chromospheric gases
• They appear as great arches that extend
into the corona
• Others rise explosively away from the sun
• Prominences are ionized gases trapped by
magnetic fields that extend from regions
of intense solar activity
Prominences
Solar Flares
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid27979966001?bctid=79384373001

• Solar Flares – brief outbursts that normally last

about an hour and appear as a sudden
brightening of the region above a sunspot
cluster
• During their existence, solar flares release
enormous amounts of energy, much of it in the
form of ultraviolet, radio, and x-ray radiation
• Fast moving particles are ejected, causing the
solar wind to intensify
• Auroras – following solar flares, Earth’s upper
atmosphere near the magnetic poles is set
alight; also called the northern and southern
lights
Solar Flares and the Aurora
The Solar Interior
• Nuclear Fusion – The process by which the
sun produces energy; this nuclear reaction
converts four hydrogen nuclei into the nucleus
of a helium atom and tremendous energy is
released
• Only a small percentage of the hydrogen in the
nuclear reaction is actually converted to energy
• As Hydrogen is consumed, the product of the
reaction – helium – forms the solar core
• It is believed that a star our size can exist in its
stable state for ~10 Billion years, making our
sun middle-aged at ~4.5 Billion years old
Nuclear Fusion
Concept Check

• How does the sun produce energy?

• Deep in its interior, the sun produces
energy by a process known as nuclear
fusion, wherein four hydrogen nuclei are
converted into the nucleus of a helium
atom and tremendous energy is released.
 Assignment

• Read Chapter 24, Section 3 (pg. 684-690)

• Do Chapter 24 Assessment #1-34 (pg. 695-
696)
• For Section 3: #’s 7-10, 20-23, 26-31, 34
• Study for the Chapter 24 Quiz!!!