6 Regions Of The Sun Essay

1. What are the six regions of the Sun?
The six regions of the Sun are the core, the radiative zone, the convective zone, the photosphere, the chromosphere, and the corona. The core is at the center of the Sun, while the corona is the outermost region of the Sun.
2. What is nuclear fusion? What role does nuclear fusion play in the Sun?
Nuclear fusion is when two atomic nuclei combine into one heavier nucleus. Nuclear fusion plays the role of providing energy for the Sun. This energy is created as nuclear fusion occurs following the steps of the proton-proton chain reaction.
3. How are sunspots and solar flares similar? How are they different?
Sunspots and solar flares are similar in the way that magnetic fields are involved, or are believed to be involved with both occurrences. Sunspots occur where areas with strong magnetic fields are located, while solar flares are believed to happen due to
twisted magnetic fields, which release energy and raise temperatures in the plasma. Solar flares and sunspots are both natural occurrences of the Sun. They are different in temperature; sunspots are cooler than the other areas of the Sun, with a temperatures around 4,000 K, while solar flares can reach up to 100 million degrees K. Sunspots appear as darker spots on the Sun, while solar flares erupt as a gigantic volcano would. A solar flare may last for a few seconds or a few hours; a sunspots lasts for a few weeks.
4.
What is a solar eclipse?
A solar eclipse is when the Sun is hidden behind the Moon; the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, blocking the Sun from view. These only occur during a new moon, at which time the Moon is seen as a silhouette when passing infront of the Sun. There are total eclipses, where the Moon completely covers the Sun, and partial eclipses, where the Moon only covers part of the
Sun.
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Imagine that you are traveling in a spaceship to the center of the Sun. What would you experience and see in each of the Sun's regions?
If I were traveling in a spaceship to the center of the Sun I would experience the 27 million degrees Fahrenheit temperature of the Sun’s core, along with the pressure which is 200 billion times more than that which we experience on Earth. I would see the flaming center of the Sun. Within the radiative zone, I would see the calmness of the plasma compared to the surface of the Sun. I would experience the blinding visible light, as it would be trillions of times brighter than that which is viewed from the surface. At the convective zone, I would see thermal columns carrying hot materials from the radiative zone to the surface of the Sun. I would also experience the transition of the cooled materials dropping back to the bas of the convective zone to be heated again by the radiative zone. Next, in the photosphere, I would see a surface looking somewhat like a boiling pot of water and would experience the 6000 K temperature at this region. In the chromospheres, I would get to see its reddish color, which is normally not visible from Earth, while feeling the gradual increase of temperature as I got further from the Sun. Finally, at the corona, I would be able to see outermost region of the Sun, which has a volume larger than the Sun itself. This region would reach 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 K and possibly even 20,000,000 K at some spots.
2.
What is the proton-proton chain reaction? Describe this process.
The proton-proton chain reaction is the process which creates energy during nuclear fusion. During this process, two hydrogen nuclei fuse together and a deuterium nucleus, which has one proton and one neutron, is formed. A neutrino is created, too. Then, the deuterium nucleus fuses with another proton and forms the nucleus of helium-3, with two protons and one neutron, during which time a gamma ray photon is released. Finally, two helium-3 fuse together and create helium-4 with two protons and two neutrons.
3. How does the Sun manage to maintain an environment in its core that is conducive to nuclear
fusion?
The Sun manages to maintain an environment in its core that is conductive to nuclear fusion through gravitational equilibrium, where the force of gravity pulling inward and the pressure pushing out is balanced. This keeps the Sun’s core at the right temperature to conduct nuclear fusion, by expanding the core of the Sun so that it will cool down, or pulling the core closer together in order to heat up the core.
4. As the Sun ages, what will happen to life here on Earth? Why?
As the Sun ages, life on Earth will seize to exist. The Sun is estimated to be about halfway through its lifetime. In about a billion years, the Sun’s temperature will increase so much that the Earth will be too hot to hold liquid water. When this happens, all life will end.
5. How can solar weather affect our lives on Earth?
Solar weather can affect our lives on Earth by affecting radio communications, highlighting the auroras in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, disrupting power, etc. For astronauts in space, solar weather can create many problems with spacecraft and equipment.