The Sun
The Sun
Navigate the knowledge tree: 🌿 Skills ➡ Life Processes
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Navigate the knowledge tree: 🌿 Skills ➡ Life Processes
The Sun and its Energy
The Sun and its Energy
What do you think the Sun is like?
What do you think makes it different from the planets of the Solar System?
The Sun (te Rā) is made mostly of hydrogen that is held together by its own gravity. Even thought it is made mostly of helium, it has 99% of all the mass in our solar system. Every 1.5 millionths of a second, the Sun (te Rā) releases more energy than all humans use in an entire year. Without the Sun (te Rā), there would be no light, no warmth, and no life. Its heat affects all the objects in our solar system.
How does a big ball of hydrogen create all that heat? The Sun’s gravity is enough to pull all of this hydrogen toward the centre of te Rā. The hydrogen nuclei is at such a high temperature and is pulled close enough together that they join into a new element— helium. This process—called nuclear fusion—releases energy.
There are three main types of energy we get from te Rā:
infrared radiation, which is what we feel as heat
visible light, which is what our eyes can see
ultraviolet light, which we can’t see but can cause sunburn on our skin.
Key Features of the Sun
Key Features of the Sun
Nuclear fusion in the centre of the Sun (te Rā) means the core gets as hot as 15 million °C. The energy from nuclear fusion then travels outward through the different layers of the Sun (te Rā); first the radiative zone, then the convective zone, then the photosphere.
At the photosphere, the surface is constantly shifting and changing due to all the movements of energy, charged particles (protons and electrons), and magnetic fields. These work together to create darkened sunspots of te Rā and big bursts of energy and materials, called flares (sudden release of energy) and prominences (large, bright, stable loop of charged particles).
The Sun goes through an 11-year cycle where it is more likely to send out flares, which are bursts of energy and material full of charged particles. These can make their way to Earth, causing our air to glow (as aurora) and interfere with electronic equipment.
Te Rā sends lots of energy toward us all the time, which gives our planet light and heat. So when the Sun goes through changes, it affects the rest of the Solar System.
More on The Sun
📕 article 📸 image 🎮 interactive 🎦 videoMore on The Sun
Glossary
Key terms and definitions.Glossary
charged particles: Protons and electrons.
flare: A sudden, iibntense release of energy (radiation) from the Sun.
gravity: The force that pulls things toward each other.
infrared radiation: The type of radiation energy that we feel as heat.
nuclear fusion: When two atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus, releasing a large amount of energy.
universe: All the things we can see in space, including all stars, galaxies and the space in between.
infrared radiation: The type of radiation energy that we feel as heat.
nuclear fusion: When two atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus, releasing a large amount of energy.
universe: All the things we can see in space, including all stars, galaxies and the space in between.
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