Astronomy Lesson: The Solar Atmosphere.pptx

Astronomy

1. THE SOLAR ATMOSPHERE ENAJE, ALFIE M . BSED301-SCIENCE

2. THE PHOTOSHERE T he Sun’s apparent surface and the lowest layer. It is less than 500 km deep H as an effective temperature of 5780 K, ranging from 6600 K at the bottom to 4400 K at the top. Dense enough to emit plenty of light but not so dense that the light can’t escape. Has mottled appearance due to Granulation and Super Granules that can be observed which is caused by convection L imb darkening and sunspots

3. THE CHROMOSPHERE The pinkish-red second layer of the solar atmosphere which is about 2000 km thick riddled with jets of gases. The temperature continues to fall, reaching a minimum of about 4400 K at the top of the photosphere. This low temperature gives chromosphere its pink color. Gives off jets of burning gases called spicules. Can be seen only during total solar eclipse. At the top of the chromosphere, across a transition region that is only about 100 km thick, the temperature suddenly soars.

4. THE SOLAR CORONA The wispy outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere, and can extend millions of kilometers into space is called the corona, after the Greek word for crown . The corona has a temperature of millions of kelvins. During a total solar eclipse, the innermost parts of the corona are visible to the unaided eye. Coronal loops and Coronal holes Because the coronal gas has a temperature over 1 million K, particles travel very fast. They escape the Sun’s gravitational pull and is streamed to the solar system in a form of solar wind.

5. SOLAR WINDS Solar wind is a stream of extremely hot charged particles that are thrown out from the upper atmosphere of the sun. Like an extension of the corona, the low-density gases of the solar wind blow past Earth at 300 to 800 km/s with gusts as high as 1000 km/s. Earth is bathed in the corona’s hot breath . The solar wind drags the Sun’s magnetic field along with it. Consequently , the solar wind has a spiral structure resembling the stream of water from a rotating lawn sprinkler . The solar wind fills the heliosphere and slows down at heliopause . This boundary separates the matter and energy of solar system and the interstellar medium.