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Outer Layers of the Sun’s Atmosphere

Outer Layers of the Sun’s Atmosphere. Photosphere - the 5800 K layer we see Chromosphere - the red layer observed using a hydrogen filter at a million degrees Corona - the incredibly thin outer atmosphere at millions of degrees. The photosphere is the visible layer of the Sun.

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Outer Layers of the Sun’s Atmosphere

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  1. Outer Layers of the Sun’s Atmosphere • Photosphere - the 5800 K layer we see • Chromosphere - the red layer observed using a hydrogen filter at a million degrees • Corona - the incredibly thin outer atmosphere at millions of degrees

  2. The photosphere is the visible layer of the Sun Granulation caused by convection

  3. Thermal Convection movie

  4. Sunspots are the most well known feature on the photosphere Granulation caused by convection

  5. Above the photosphere, the chromosphere is characterized by spikes of gas called spicules

  6. Supergranules surrounded by spicules

  7. The corona ejects some of its mass into space as the solar wind

  8. Solar Wind • Charged particles (mostly protons and electrons) streaming outward from the sun at 450 km/sec • Causes • comet’s tails • aurorae

  9. Monitoring sunspots reveals the solar cycle and the Sun’s rotation

  10. The daily movement of sunspots reveals that the Sun’s rotation takes about 4 weeks

  11. The annual change in numbers of sunspots reveals that the Sun experiences an 11-year solar cycle Maximum number Minimum number

  12. The cyclical change in the latitude of sunspots also reveals that the Sun experiences an 11-year solar cycle

  13. The Sun’s magnetic fields create sunspots Zeeman effect - spectral lines split in regions of high magnetic fields

  14. Magnetic field lines connect sunspots on the Sun’s photosphere

  15. Babcock’s magnetic dynamo is one possible explanation of the sunspot cycle where magnetic field lines become complexly entangled after many solar rotations

  16. Solar magnetic fields also create other atmospheric phenomena • plages • filaments

  17. Solar magnetic fields also create other atmospheric phenomena • plages • filaments • prominences

  18. Solar magnetic fields also create other atmospheric phenomena • plages • filaments • prominences • solar flares

  19. Solar magnetic fields also create other atmospheric phenomena • plages • filaments • prominences • solar flares • coronal holes

  20. Solar magnetic fields also create other atmospheric phenomena • coronal holes • coronal mass ejections (CMEs) • plages • filaments • prominences • solar flares

  21. Thermonuclear reactions in the core of the Sun produce its energy At extremely high temperatures and pressures, 4 Hydrogen atoms can combine to make 1 Helium atom and release energy in the process according toE = mc2 4H  He + energy HYDROGEN FUSION

  22. Solar models describe how energy escapes from the Sun’s core through the: • Core • Radiative zone • Convective Zone

  23. Helioseismology is the study of solar vibrations in order to determine the detailed interior structure of the Sun

  24. Quiz 3 Review

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