CHAPTER 5 1.

PHOTOSPHERE (Photos = light, sphere = ball)

SUN, STARS AND GALAXIES
Lesson 1
THE SUN
The Sun is one of the 200 billion stars that make up the Milky Way Galaxy. It
is the only star close enough to permit easy study of its surface. Compared to other
stars of the universe, many of which are larger, smaller, hotter, cooler, more red, or
more blue, the Sun is an “average star”. Yet, because of its gaseous nature, the
density is only one quarter that of Earth, a little greater than the density of water.
It radiates most of the sunlight we see and therefore appears as the bright
disk of the Sun. When viewed telescopically, the photosphere’s grainy texture is
apparent. This is the result of numerous comparatively small, bright markings called
granules. Each granule survives for only 10-20 minutes, while the combined motion
of old granules being replaced by new ones gives the photosphere the appearance
of boiling. This up-and-down movement of gas, called convection, produces the
grainy appearance of the photosphere and is responsible for the transfer of energy in
the uppermost part of the Sun’s interior.
Studies show that 90% of the Sun’s surface atoms are hydrogen and almost 10%
helium.
2. CHROMOSPHERE
- Color layer
- A relatively thin layer of hot, incandescent gases a few thousand kilometers
thick. It appears as a thin red rim around the Sun.

One of the bright lines of hydrogen contributes a good portion of its total
output and accounts for this sphere’s red color. The top of the chromosphere
contains numerous spicules (spica = point), flamelike structures that extend upward
about 10,000 km into the lower corona. Spicules are produced by the turbulent
motion of the granules below.

STRUCTURE OF THE SUN 3. CORONA

For convenience, we divide the Sun into four parts: the solar interior; the - The outermost portion of the solar atmosphere.
visible surface or photosphere; and the two layers of its atmosphere, the - It is visible only when the brilliant photosphere is blocked.
chromosphere and the corona. - This envelope of ionized gases normally extends a million kilometers or so
from the Sun and produces a glow about half as bright as the full Moon. At the outer
fringe of the corona, the ionized gases have speeds great enough to escape the
gravitational pull of the Sun. The streams of protons and electrons that boil from the
corona constitute the solar wind.

Studies of the energy emitted from the photosphere indicate that its
temperature averages about 6,000 K (10,000 degrees Fahrenheit). Upward from the
photosphere, the temperature unexpectedly increases, exceeding 1 million K at the
top of the corona.
SUNSPOTS
The most conspicuous features on the surface of the Sun are the dark
blemishes called sunspots. The Sun’s equator rotates once in 25 days, whereas a
place located 70 degrees from the solar equator, either north or south, requires 33
days for one rotation.
SOLAR INTERIOR
Deep in its interior, a nuclear reaction called photon-photon chain converts
four hydrogen nuclei (protons) into the nucleus of a helium atom. The energy
released from the photon-photon reaction results because some of the matter
involved is actually converted to radiant energy.

PROMINENCES
Among the more spectacular features of the active Sun are prominences.
These huge cloudlike structures, consisting of concentrations of chromospheric
gases, are best observed when they are on the edge, or limb, of the Sun, where they
often appear as bright arches that extend well into the corona.
The Sun is consuming an estimated 600 million tons of hydrogen each
second, with about 4 million tons of it being converted to energy. The by-product of
hydrogen burning is helium, which forms the solar core.

SOLAR FLARES
Brief outbursts that normally last an hour or so and appear as a sudden
brightening of the region above a sunspot cluster. The most spectacular effects of
solar flares are the auroras, also called the Northern and Southern Lights.

It is believed that a star the size of the Sun can remain in a stable state for
about 10 billion years. Since the Sun is already 5 billion years old, it is “middle-
aged.” The planet Jupiter is basically a hydrogen-rich gas ball. If it were about 10
times more massive, it too might have become a star.

Following a strong solar flare, Earth’s upper atmosphere above the magnetic
poles is set aglow for several nights. Auroral displays, like other solar activities, vary
in intensity with the 11-year sunspot cycle.