Characteristics of the sun (a) Size Its diameter is about 109 times the diameter of the Earth (1.4 million km) (b) Mass About 333420 times the mass of the Earth(1.989 x 10 30 kg) (c) Density About the density of the Earth(1.41 g cm -3 ) (d) Surface temperature Ranges from 5000 o C to 6000 o C (e) Temperature of Suns core 15 million o C
The structure of the sun (a) Corona - The outermost layer of Suns atmosphere
(b) Photosphere - The layer of dense gas that appear yellow from the earth. - Sunspots, prominences & flares occur on this surface
(c) Chromosphere - The Suns atmosphere (in between the photosphere & the corona) - The layer of gas below the corona that is bright red in colour.
The structure of the sun (d) Core - Consists of hydrogen and helium gases. - Nuclear reactions occur to generate heat and light energy
Phenomena On The Surface Of The Sun Sunspots - Dark spot on the photosphere Prominences - Hot gas that shoots out from the chromosphere. These gas explosions produce a very bright light. Solar Flares - Explosion of gas that occur suddenly in the chromosphere Prominence and solar flare Sunspot 9.2 Stars & Galaxies In The Universe A star a ball of very hot gases which produces its own heat & light Stars have various types based on their brightness, colour, size & temperature. The stars with the highest temperature (blue) & with the lowest temperature (red) Rigel is a blue supergiant star Stars that are smaller than the Sun - white dwarfs. Stars that are larger than the Sun giants/red giants The largest giants supergiants Stars can be classified according to their sizes as shown: White dwarf, the Sun, giant star, supergiants ( + in size) The colour of a star in relation to its surface temperature Colour Surface Temperature ( o C)
Examples Blue Above 30000 Zeta Puppis Blue-white 15000 30000 Rigel White 8000 11000 Vega White-yellow About 7500 Canopus Yellow About 6000 Sun Orange About 5000 Aldeberan Red About 3500 Betelgeuse Formation & Death Of Stars Stars come into existence in the vast clouds of dust & gas called nebulas that move through space. A star begins to form when a large number of gas particles whirl together. The weak gravitational force of the whirling particles attracts more particles. As the group of particles slowly gets larger & larger, the gravitational force gets stronger & stronger. The particles draw in towards one another & form a ball of gas. As the number of gas particles in the ball grows larger, pressure builds up inside the ball. Finally, the pressure becomes strong enough to raise the temperature of the gases & the gases begin to glow. When the pressure & temperature inside the ball get very high, nuclear reaction begins to take place. The gases become a star.
oC
Galaxies Types of galaxies Elliptical galaxies -Contains mostly stars - Vary in size - Smaller than spirals - E.g The M87 galaxy Spiral galaxies -The most numerous form among the larger galaxies - Contains stars, dust & gas - E.g The Milky Way & the Andromeda Irregular galaxies -Appear to have no special shape at all - Contains stars, dust & gas - E.g The Magellanic & cloud 9.3 Thankful For The Existence Of The Universe As A Gift From God We should appreciate the uniqueness, order, beauty & harmony in the universe as a sign of the glory of God.
The universe is constantly expanding & getting bigger all the time.
All that exists in the universe is not permanent but changes with time. The Importance Of The Sun To Life In The Earth The sun supplies light energy to green plants to make food The Sun supplies heat energy to warm the Earth & provide a suitable temperature for living things Heat from the Sun enables evaporation & condensation processes to take place which will lead to the occurance of rain The Sun supplies light energy that enables humans & animals to see