A Special Star
What is the sun?
The sun is a star.
What percent of the energy leaving the sun is in some sort of light of electromagnetic waves?
93%.
What does a spectroscope do?
A spectroscope sorts the wavelengths of light emitted by elements into distinct colors.
Where is the sun’s energy generated?
The sun’s energy is generated in the core.
What are sunspots?
Sunspots are cooler areas in the photosphere.
What is the sun a source of?
The sun is a source of light and heat for those here on earth.
What do physicists describe light energy as?
They define it as electromagnetic waves, or EM.
How many elements does the sun contain?
The sun contains 79 of the 92 elements that occur on earth, but in different amounts.
Where does concentrated electromagnetic energy move in?
It moves in the radiation zone.
How many weeks does it take for a sunspot to go halfway around the sun?
It takes about 2 weeks for a sunspot to go halfway around the sun.
What do astronomers use to sort the wavelengths of light?
They use a tool called a spectroscope.
What is the other 7% of the energy leaving the sun?
The other 7% is high-energy protons and electrons.
What is the most abundant element in this sun?
The most abundant element in the sun is hydrogen.
Where is energy transported to the photosphere through convection currents?
It is in the convection zone.
The sun is made out of ____________.
Plasma.
What is the sun a timeline for?
The sun is a timeline for days, seasons, and years.
What’s a picometer?
A picometer is one-trillion the of a meter or one billion the of a millimeter.
What is the second most abundant element in the sun?
The second most abundant element is helium.
What is the core?
The core is: the hottest and the most inner part of the sun, 1/4 of the sun's total diameter, and made of gas.
What star is the only star in the universe which scientists can see the details of?
The sun is the only star in the universe which scientists can see the details of.
What is the astronomical unit (AU)?
The astronomical unit is the distance from the earth to the sun.
Ultraviolet waves have wavelengths that range from _________nm to __________nm. (Fill in the blanks.)
1. 10 nm
2. 400 nm
Together, what percent of the sun’s mass do the two most abundant elements make up?
The two most abundant minerals make up 98% of the sun’s mass.
What is the photosphere?
The photosphere is the visible surface of the sun, weighs 28x as much as earth, is fluid, is 8,672-10,832℉, and is not as hot as the interior.
How many years do the amount of sunspots fluctuate (rise and fall irregularly in amount) in?
The amount of sunspots fluctuate in cycles of 11 years.