Astronomy Unit 2: The Sun

What season is this shown at letter A?

Fall

What season is shown at letter B?

Summer

What season is shown at letter C?

Spring

What season is shown at letter D?

Winter

Where do the most direct rays strike the Earth during winter?

The Tropic of Capricorn

Where do the most direct rays strike the Earth during spring?

At the Equator

Where do the most direct rays strike Earth during the summer?

The Tropic of Cancer

Where do the most direct rays strike the Earth during the fall?

The Equator

How does daylight change with the seasons?

Earth’s axial tilt causes different hemishperes to recieve different amounts of sunlight at different times of the year

What is the angle of solar noon altitude during the winter?

23 degrees

What is the angle of solar noon altitude during the spring and fall?

47 degrees

What is the angle of solar noon altitude during the summer?

70 degrees

What is the effect of the angle of the sun on solar radiation and daylight hours?

It causes the changing of the seasons

Where is the location of sunrise and sunset?

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west

How does the axial tilt of the Earth cause changes in the apparent path of the sun?

Different hemishperes are angled towards the sun at different times of the year

What is the reason for the seasons?

The Earth’s axial tilt causes different areas to receive different amounts of sunlight

What type of star is the sun?

A yellow dwarf star

How big is the sun compared to Earth?

About 109 times bigger than Earth

What layer of the sun is #1?

The core

What layer of the sun is #2?

Radiative Zone

What layer of the sun is #3?

Convective Zone

What layer of the sun is #4?

Photosphere

What layer of the sun is #5?

Chromosphere

What layer of the sun is #6?

Corona

What is the sun’s energy source and what occurs during this process?

Nuclear Fusion

Why do thermonuclear reactions only occurs in the sun’s core?

It’s the only place with high enough temperatures and pressure for nuclear fusion to happen

How does energy move through the radiative and convection zones?

Energy moves from the radiative zone as photons and is transported by the movement of plasma in the convective zone

How does the density change through the layers of the sun?

Decreases dramatically from the core to the surface of the sun

How does the temperature change through the layers of the sun?

Decreases from the core out to the visible surface but rapidly increases in the sun’s atmosphere

Sunspot:

Result from the interaction of the sun’s surface plasma with it’s magnetic field

Solar Flare:

High magnetic fields in sunspot regions cause explosions

Prominence:

A large loop of plasma that is released into space and held together by the sun’s magnetic field

CME:

Plasma that explodes back into space from the sun

How are sunspots different from the surrounding photosphere?

They are regions of intense magnetic fields that are cooler and darker

How do magnetic fields and differential rotation cause the formation of sunspots?

When the sun’s magnetic field lines twist and break through the surface, creating intense magnetism

How does the location of sunspots change during a solar cycle?

Sunspots migrate from high latitudes towards the equator

How are sunspots, solar flares, prominences, and CME’s related?

They are related to intense magnetism on the sun

Why should solar flares and coronal mass ejection s be a concern for businesses that use telecommunication satellites?

Solar weather can damage power grids and create long-lasting blackouts; they can also disrupt satellite communications

What causes auroras?

When the energy from a solar storm reaches Earth, charged particles interact with air molecules to create aurora